New Directions
by Jaiaelle
Summary: The twelve members of New Directions are very different but they have one goal: making it to regionals. Along the way, they have to deal with each other, which might lead them in very new directions... Rachel/Finn, Quinn/Artie, Tina/Puck finished
1. Stars

_Author's Note: I fell in love with Glee the second time I watched it. The first time I barely paid attention...then I went back and rewatched it...and the fall was hard! I couldn't help but begin composing fan fiction ideas. This is my first one written down. It will be, hopefully, a series of related one shots about the members of New Directions. I've already formed my 'ships and they will be included in this. They are not all CC couples (but they could be, right? We have only had one episode, after all). If you enjoy the first two chapters, please review them and encourage me to continue! If you hate them...well, review and explain why. Thanks!  
Also - this contains spoilers for future episodes but only slightly._

**_Stars_**

The darkening evening perfectly reflected Rachel Berry's darkening mood. Turning from the window, she whirled to face McKinley High's resident Spanish teacher and advisor of the Glee club.

"I don't think it's a good idea at all, Mr. Schuester," she exclaimed, placing her hands firmly on her hips.

Mr. Schuester barely lifted his head to answer her. "Rachel, we need twelve people to compete. Does it really matter that Quinn and her friends joined? Or Puck?"

Amazed that Mr. Schuester didn't see the problem, Rachel sputtered, "Yes! I bet they're planning on sabotaging the club and ruining of all my - uh, I mean _our _dreams."

This time Mr. Schuester paused in grading his papers, sending the wound up teen a reassuring smile, though Rachel didn't feel her fears evaporating in the least bit. "Don't worry Rachel. I'm sure they have great reasons for wanting to be a part of Glee. And if you're right, then I'm positive that they'll change their minds after a few practices. They'll become part of our family."

Harrumphing at the teacher's sunny disposition, Rachel stormed out into the hallway, determined to find someone who would see it her way. Her footsteps pounded on the linoleum tiling, coming to a halt by the auditorium when she heard voices. Poking her head in, she spied Mercedes and Kurt standing on one side of the stage while Quinn and Puck stood on the other. Artie had wheeled himself into the center of the floor and was strumming his guitar. Curiosity getting the better of her, Rachel flounced in, her hair streaming behind her.

"Hey guys," she said cheerfully, taking the steps to stand on the stage by Mercedes and Kurt. "What's going on?"

Not even glancing at her, Kurt crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the popular kids. "Oh, nothing. Mercedes and I were just trying to give these two some tips on performing."

"We don't need your tips," sneered Quinn. "We know how to perform. I'm a Cheerio and Puck is on the football team. Since the Glee club has never really performed anything in years, maybe _we_ should be giving _you_ the advice."

In preparation of what was sure to be Mercedes' reaction at such a comment, Rachel grabbed onto one of Mercedes' arms, as if Rachel alone could hold back the force of nature that was Mercedes. As Rachel had internally predicted, Mercedes began to charge but, fortunately, Kurt held her other arm, so, try as she might to move, Mercedes remained in place.

Quinn's high pitched laugh tempted Rachel to release Mercedes but she didn't because the sight of blood made her a bit squeamish.

"Look," said Puck, glaring at the each one in turn (excluding Quinn, of course). "We just came here to practice. Alone. So, if you don't mind…"

Holding her head up high, Rachel started to leave. "Come on guys. We can go practice elsewhere." Kurt and Mercedes followed her, while Artie rolled down the ramp, still grasping his guitar. Coming down the aisle opposite the Gleeks, skipped Quinn's cheerleading friends.

Hating that those people, the ones who had tormented Rachel since grade school, were taking over her domain, she slammed an open palm into the door, causing it to swing and bang against a wall.

"I know how you feel," grumbled Kurt, heaving beside her.

"This isn't right." Mercedes said, in a matter of fact tone.

"Come on guys," interjected Artie. "You just have to be Zen about it."

"Zen?" asked Mercedes skeptically.

"Yeah, Zen. It means cool-"

"I _know_ what it means," she cut him off. "But I don't think there's any way I can be Zen about _this_."

Shrugging, Artie said, "Well, there's not like we can do anything about it anyway."

"There has to be something!" Rachel cried, not willing to admit to defeat. "I've already talked to Mr. Schuester and he won't listen to reason at all!" As one, the teens started to move down the hallway and Rachel kept talking, though her friends drowned her out, as they were all lost in their own thoughts. "…so maybe we can talk to him," Rachel finished as they strolled out into the almost-night air.

"Why don't you take care of that?" Mercedes suggested.

Filled with unbridled happiness at the suggestion, Rachel merely nodded. A blush started at her cheeks and spread, though the others, already dispersing, didn't notice. As soon as they were out of hearing range, she let out a shrill squeal then ran away from the school, planning everything she would say as she made her case…

- - - - - -

As usual, being so close to him caused a failing of words in her. "Uh, so, Finn, I'm sure you get what I'm saying…"

Leaning against his doorframe, in a casual pose, he regarded her in confusion. "Actually…I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh." Embarrassed, she shifted on her feet. "Well, I'm speaking of, um, the newest members of New Directions. You know…"

"Quinn and Puck?"

"Precisely."

Taking a moment to scratch his head, Finn glanced over his shoulder. "You, uh, want to come in?"

Filled with awe, she echoed his question. "Come in?"

"Sure."

Trembling lips uplifted in a smile. "I will." And ten steps later, she was standing in the middle of Finn Hudson's living room, head turning from left to right, as her heart almost exploded in joy. She would have a lot to write in her diary that night. Surveying the room, she chronicled every little detail in her mind, so that she might accurately describe it within the pages of her dearest friend. So absorbed was she in the perusal of the room that she didn't hear Finn asking her a question.

"Rachel?" Snapping out of her daze, she turned adoring eyes to him. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Something…to drink?" Tucking a hair behind her ear, she gave him a demure yes, telling him that anything would be fine.

He disappeared into the kitchen for a moment then reemerged not long after, a bottle of root beer in each hand. Though Rachel didn't normally drink soda (as a performer, she had to be careful about what substances she allowed to enter her body), she gratefully accepted the bottle he offered her, then settled on the couch cushion he patted in invitation. Taking a swig of the soda, she swiveled her body, not taking her eyes off his profile. Though she had known Finn for a long time, she had not noticed, prior to his first performance with New Directions, how very attractive he was.

Swallowing, he glanced at her, the light in her eyes making him slightly uncomfortable. "Listen, Rachel, I know how you feel."

"You…you do?" she squeaked, wondering if he would reciprocate her feelings of undying love for him.

"About Puck and Quinn," he went on, without missing a beat. "I was surprised when they showed up to try out for New Directions."

A slightly deflated "oh" exited Rachel's lips but Finn barely noticed.

"But maybe they decided to give it a try because I joined. I'd like to think that at least."

Discouraged that he wasn't examining the situation as much as she had, she leaned back against the couch. "I don't know Finn. I think they might have something…nefarious planned."

Raising his eyebrows, Finn didn't even need to ask the question that sprung to his mind.

"I don't know _what_ but I just don't think they can be trusted!" Standing, Rachel faced the boy she had an almost obsessive crush on. "I can't believe you, you _and_ Mr. Schuester, are so blind!" Feeling almost at tears, because even Finn wouldn't listen to her, she charged at his front door. But his warm hand, encircling her upper arm, stopped her in mid step.

"Hey, you might be right Rachel. But we can't really do anything but keep an eye on them, right? And we need them to compete. If they leave, we're down to eight members of the club."

It was almost exactly what Mr. Schuester had said, but, coming from Finn, it made more sense. "But we'll keep an eye on them, right?"

"Of course."

Slightly reassured, and disappointed, since he removed his hand from her arm, she smiled at him, and was rewarded with a smile in return. "Well, I should go. Good night Finn."

"Good night Rachel."

After the door shut behind her, Rachel stood, shivering, not because it was cold, but because of what had just passed between her and Finn.

Though he couldn't truly see her yet, she was sure one day he would. They were two stars in the night and, eventually, they couldn't do anything but collide.


	2. Mystery

**_Mystery_**

"Alright!" yelled Mr. Schuester, overjoyed with the student's performance that afternoon at practice. "That was outstanding guys! Why don't we-" Whatever he was going to suggest was cut off by the tinkling ring of his cell phone. "Ah," he said glancing down at the phone's screen. "I have to get this. You guys…just take five."

As soon as the break was announced, Quinn dashed from the stage, out of sight of all the other members of the club. Everyone else ignored her departure, mingling and engaging in small talk. The division between the popular kids and the "Gleeks," as they had come to be called, was more than a bit obvious. Finn was the only one who bounced between the two groups and it was clear he wanted them all to be friends.

Artie doubted that would ever happen. Puck, Quinn, and the two other cheerleaders, treated the others with disdain, acting as if they were better. They showed no remorse, as Finn had, over misdeeds carried out against the Gleeks. However, Artie had decided to be above their attitudes and simply ignored them, most of the time. If only Mercedes, Kurt, Tina, and Rachel would do the same.

Sighing, Artie wheeled himself to the nether regions of the stage, behind the curtain that masked the others from sight, thinking about only a few nights before, when Mercedes had been very close to pounding Quinn into the ground. Luckily, both Kurt and Rachel had been there to restrain her. He hadn't gone far into the recesses when he heard the sound of someone sniffling. Pushing at the rims of his wheelchair, he moved, driven by curiosity, into the more secluded and darker area behind the curtains.

He was surprised when he saw Quinn Fabray, doubled over, as if in pain, and crying into her hands. Not sure how to handle the situation, he remained frozen for an eternal moment. Finally, he gained the courage to clear his voice.

Startled, Quinn's head shot up, her tear soaked face barely visible in the dim light. "Wh-what? Artie?"

"Um, yeah," he said, weakly, not quite over the shock of finding the Queen of Mean sobbing over…over something. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she snapped, standing up and straightening her skirt. "A piece of dust or something got behind my contact, that's all." Finished with the obviously false explanation, she walked past him, her hip brushing against his arm. "And…Artie…don't tell anyone about this or I'll-"

"You don't have to threaten me," he interrupted her, eyes narrowing behind his glasses. "I don't intend on telling anyone, so don't worry."

Jutting her chin out, her fingers deftly wiped the remaining tears away. "I wasn't worried," she shot back, before leaving him alone.

Shaking his head, Artie wondered at the whole situation. To find Quinn crying meant there might be more to her than he had previously thought. A part of him wanted to discover that unknown person but another part warned him against trying. Not willing to listen to either side, yet, he wheeled himself back on to stage, just as Mr. Schuester was returning. "Okay guys, why don't we try that one more time?"

Taking his place, Artie afforded himself one glance at Quinn. There appeared to be no evidence that she had been crying.

Rachel began the number, while the others joined it. Artie sang along with the others, eyes fixed on Rachel and Finn as the took the center of the stage. Normally, Rachel became an almost scary fan girl when it came to Finn, but when they performed together, that eerie side of her was stripped away and the two couldn't help but shine, almost like two stars in the night. Grinning, Artie wheeled himself forward, then back, in line with the dance steps, before allowing himself one more glance at Quinn.

And that's when he knew why Quinn was crying. Though smiling and singing and dancing, her eyes, full of sadness, were locked on Rachel and Finn.

For the first time ever, Artie Abrams felt bad for Quinn Fabray, who saw the chemistry between the two and, like Artie, couldn't deny it.

In that minute, Artie knew that his adventurous side was going to take over. Quinn Fabray was a mystery, one Artie was determined to solve.

_Author's Note: I haven't yet given the two cheerleaders names...according to spoilers, there will be two cheerleaders, besides Quinn, who join Glee but I don't know there names...so if anyone knows, I would greatly appreciate you pming me. Also, there are two members I haven't really addressed...again, I don't know what there names will be in the show. I'll probably make them up for this story, later. Also, I wanted to note Rachel's obssession with Finn - it won't be that way for long, this is just how I think her feelings for him will start._


	3. Evaporate

_Author's Note: Only one review for the first chapter? How discouraging... However, I'm plugging on because I know that there are people reading who didn't review. And, by the way, feel free to pm with me suggestions for this story, as well as others. I have some plans formed and firm (especially concerning Rachel/Finn) but am open to other suggestions - for the most part. Anyway, here's part three. Review please! Thanks. :-D_

**_Evaporate_**

The evidence of Rachel's crush on Finn had quickly become apparent to the other members of Glee though it had taken time for the oblivious Mr. Schuester to become aware of it. It was the seventh club meeting after New Directions had gone from having six members to having twelve that the hopeful Spanish teacher first noted the look of open admiration in Rachel's eyes in regards to Finn. Feeling that a crush from one such as Rachel Berry might hurt the club in the long run, Mr. Schuester pulled Finn aside prior to beginning the eighth meeting and suggested that the teen boy talk to Rachel.

"Talk to her?" asked Finn, clearly not understanding why. "About something specifically?"

Nodding his head in affirmation, Mr. Schuester glanced at the petite brunette, only to find that her eyes quickly retreated from tall Finn. "She clearly likes you and I think it would be best if you spoke to her on the issue."

Uncomfortable, Finn mumbled a response about addressing it sooner rather than later, which seemed to appease Mr. Schuester, who announced, almost immediately thereafter, that the meeting would have to wait ten minutes because he had forgotten something in his classroom. With a significant glance at Finn, the teacher vacated the room, leaving the teens alone.

No sooner had the door slammed shut behind Mr. Schuester then Quinn sidled her way to Finn's side, grasping his hand in hers, making Finn feel as if she was marking her territory. Sighing, he pulled his hand away. "I've got to…talk to Rachel for a minute. Glee business." Not waiting for the word of protest he was sure would come, he crossed the stage and found himself staring down into Rachel's wide, innocent eyes. "Uh, can we talk for a second? In private?"

A look of disbelief crossed her face and, for a moment, it appeared she would just stare at him, mouth agape. After what felt like an uncomfortable eternity, Rachel grunted out a sound then said, "Yes, yes! I will!"

Taking the lead, he moved behind the curtain, shielding them both from prying eyes and, more likely, ears. "Hey…I…I think that you…" Stumbling over the sentence, he felt like a fool but finally managed to spit out what he intended to. "I think that you like me Rachel and that's flattering and all but I don't think anything can happen between us."

Caught off guard, her brow furrowed as his words sunk in. "Right," she said at long last. "Because you're dating Quinn."

Swallowing, he rubbed the back of his head with one hand. "Ah, no. I mean, yes, I'm dating Quinn but it's more than that. You and I…we're just too different."

Cocking her head to one side, she asked, simply, "How?"

"How?" he echoed. "How are we different?" He paused to think about it and numerous things came to mind but none of which would truly keep him from dating her. In fact, their differences could actually be a positive thing, the more he thought about it. They had enough in common to get along but just enough dissimilarities to keep any relationship they might have had interesting. "Uh…well, the truth is, I think that your crush on me borders on the unhealthy."

Blinking several times, she digested his statement. "Maybe you're right." Switching from introspective to adoring once more, she attached herself to his arm. "And it's so sweet of you to be concerned about my mental well being. It's…honorable."

Perplexed as to why his strategy hadn't worked, he opened his mouth, thinking perhaps he could try something new, but was stopped before his brain had a chance to process anything.

"Okay guys," rang out Mr. Schuester's voice. "Let's get this started."

The two emerged from behind the curtain, Rachel's hand immediately dropping from his arm as they came into view of their fellow Glee-mates. He cast a look Mr. Schuester's way that he hoped relayed the message that he had failed in his mission.

In minutes Mr. Scheuster, and Rachel, the co-choreographer for the performance they had been testing out for the past few meetings (to find out whether or not it was truly regional worthy), pointed everyone into place. Agitated at himself for not getting through to Rachel, and hoping that she wouldn't get hurt somehow because of his stupidity, he took his place in the back row, beside Kurt on one side and Puck on the other. However, he didn't notice that he wasn't exactly positioned right.

"No, no," said Rachel, coming up to him and smiling broadly. "Finn, you need to move over just a bit."

Without thinking, he snapped, "Sorry I'm not perfect like you and didn't get it right the first time." As soon as he said the words, he regretted them and wished he could take them back. The crestfallen expression on her face made himself want to kick himself, for it proved that he had done what he had, only moments before, been hoping he would never do.

He had hurt her.

Bottom lip trembling and eyes filling with tears, Rachel bolted off the stage, running past a snickering Quinn. Dashing down the steps, prepared to apologize profusely, he was stopped by Mr. Schuester. "Let her go," was all the teacher had to say.

Feeling sick at the thought of Rachel in any kind of pain, especially over his unkind words, Finn gave in and went back up the stairs.

"Okay, we'll do this without Rachel for now," said Mr. Schuester, as Finn took his place again, this time positioned correctly.

- - - - - - -

In the girl's bathroom, Rachel huddled in the corner stall, breathing deeply and trying to stop the flow of tears that were running in streams down her cheeks.

Finn…Finn of all people… She hadn't been that demanding, and she knew that she could be demanding, from time to time. Yet he had spoken to her in that tone…

The memory of the moment relived itself in her mind and a fresh batch of tears exploded forth.

Maybe, just maybe, Finn wasn't as perfect as she had thought.

Minutes passed and Rachel didn't move but the tears eventually ceased. Finn wasn't perfect but that was okay. What wasn't okay was how obsessed she had become with him. Earlier Finn had said as much but Rachel hadn't really listened to his words. Now she understood. That didn't mean the feelings would just evaporate but, given time, they might.

Sighing, Rachel placed her head in her hands, wondering how she could have been so wrong about her and Finn being two stars, destined to collide.


	4. Harmony

**_Harmony_**

Will Schuester had had just about enough of the obvious division between Quinn, her cheerleader friends, Cindy and Jane, the ever brooding Puck, and everyone else. The schism not only effected the performances, thus not allowing New Directions to reach the level of excellence Will truly believed they could, but it also effected the sheer happiness that should've accompanied being a part of Glee. In his glory days, he had enjoyed every moment of Glee. Remembering those past times only pushed him to seek some way that all the members might be united.

"Okay guys," he said, clapping his hands to gain attention of the teens congregated on the stage. "Today we're going to do something different."

Stepping forward, Rachel's brows quirked. "Different how, Mr. Schuester?"

"Today…" He smiled, pausing for dramatic effect, then gave another clap of his hands. "Today we are going to practice getting to know one another."

The reaction of the students wasn't exactly what he had hoped for. Instead of wildly applauding, or appearing even slightly pleased, the kids all looked horrified.

"You're kidding, right Mr. Schuester?"

"No, Quinn, I'm not," he replied, glancing at her than letting his eyes sweep the rest of the group. "Harmony is essential to Glee. Not just when we're on stage hitting all the right notes but also before performances, after performances. I'm not asking you to be friends but to try, at least, to get along. A little." When no one responded, and many glared, Will gave a slight shake of his head at their resistance, then cleared his throat. "I thought first we could try some trust exercises."

"Wait," interjected Puck, a look of disbelief replacing his usual scowl. "You don't mean those exercises where one person falls and trusts the other person to catch them, do you?"

His smile growing, Will nodded his head. "That's exactly what I mean Puck."

After a stunned minute of silence, Quinn stepped forward and pointed an accusing finger at Artie. "That's not fair because _he _can't participate!"

"He can't help that Quinn." Sending Artie an apologetic look for being singled out, yet again (being confined to a wheelchair meant he was often excluded from the movement part of performances), Will said, "You can join in the next exercise."

Not seeming to be too let down, Artie rolled himself to the side of the stage, an amused smile playing across his lips. From the center of the stage, Tina glared at him which only seemed to fuel his merriment.

Several minutes later, the trust exercises seemed to be going quite well, until it came to Jane and Rachel.

Jane glanced at Quinn, then glanced at Rachel, then stepped to the center of the stage, after Will had called their names.

"Okay, Jane, you go first and catch Rachel."

Not seeming to mistrust the red headed cheerleader, Rachel took her place, closed her eyes, crossed her arms over her chest and then fell. However, instead of reaching out to catch her, Jane took a step back, watching with half closed eyes as Rachel's head impacted the stage. Crying out, Rachel stood quickly, turning to look at Jane, who only said "Oops." Touching the back of her head, Rachel felt a bump. Immediately, she grew woozy, swaying then almost falling once more. Fast on her feet, Mercedes caught the girl while Finn darted off the stage, announcing that he would get an icepack.

Sighing, Will could only console himself that at least some of the Glee members possessed harmony.

Later, Rachel was holding an icepack to her head, while Finn sat attentively at her side, though neither spoke, in the audience seats, while everyone else sat crossed legged in the middle of the stage. Except, of course, for Artie, who was in his wheelchair, at the end of the line of teenagers, next to Tina.

"This time, we'll try something where nobody can get hurt," Will said, muttering under his breath, "I hope." The students, obviously devoid of enthusiasm, just arched their eyebrows. "We're going to discuss our dreams, our fears." Not expecting anyone to speak, Will started to elaborate, when Thomas, one of the boys from band who had joined Glee, spoke up.

"Sometimes I have this dream where I come to school wearing nothing but pudding. Chocolate pudding. All the kids are laughing at me and I'm desperately trying to find-"

Ryan, the other boy from band who had joined Glee, clamped a hand on Thomas' shoulder, ending his speech. "I don't think that's what he meant."

Perplexed, Thomas said, "But…I'm afraid of chocolate pudding…and I dreamt about it..."

Sputtering in laughter at the ridiculous statement, the cheerleaders held their sides.

"Uh, Thomas, I'm sorry about that…" One sharp look from him silenced the cheerleaders and he asked, "Does anyone have anything else to contribute?"

And, no surprise, the auditorium remained silent.

Rubbing his temples, Will was close to calling it a day, when Rachel stood up. "I'm afraid of disappearing into the backdrop of society. I want to be in the foreground. I want to be a star. It's all I've ever wanted and I'm scared that I will never attain my goals." Raising her chin, she dropped back into her chair.

Following her lead, Finn also stood. "I have this fear involving expectations. Like I won't meet the expectations my mom has for me, the ones I have for myself and…" Hesitating, he dropped his gaze to Rachel before continuing. "And the expectations others have for me."

Rolling forward, Artie spoke up. "I'm afraid that people will only identify me as the guy in the wheelchair, without noticing that I have talents. I can sing, play the guitar, I'm the president of the math club. I'm not just the paraplegic."

Delighted at their three responses, Will waited expectantly for someone else to speak. One minute passed, then another, then another. Perhaps no one else would respond. Before he could end the meeting, however, a quiet voice sounded out.

"I-I-I'm a-afraid th-that I'll n-n-never l-l-lose m-my-"

"Let me finish for you," interrupted Puck. "Since it will take you a year to get it out. You're afraid you'll never lose your stutter."

An angry Mercedes' called out, "What's your problem? Why couldn't you just let her say it?"

"Yeah, that was really-" Artie began before getting cut off by Puck.

"Trying to defend your girlfriend? I've seen you try before. Too bad you can only sit in the wheelchair and not really do anything. Oh, and by the way, I'm sure that people will never see beyond your wheels." Standing up, Puck faced Artie, sneering. Tina also stood, for some reason, facing the football player. "This is stupid, I'm leaving."

In a flash, Tina had moved across the stage, not allowing Puck to come through on his promise, and slammed her fist into the side of his face. "Never talk to him like th-that!" she cried.

Groaning, Will rushed up the stairs and stood between Tina and the enraged Puck. "I think that's all for today," he said, a tone of sadness in his voice. The teens dispersed leaving the dejected teacher standing in the middle of the stage, head hanging.

- - - - - - -

The next time Glee met, the teens convened early, as they had agreed upon during the school day, even though tensions were still high.

Standing in the middle of the circle that had formed, Rachel and Cindy surveyed their peers. "So this is what it comes down to," declared Rachel, meeting each person's eyes. "Mr. Schuester was correct when he spoke of harmony. We don't have it and our performances are suffering. We need to be willing to get along."

Clearing her throat and nodding slightly at Quinn, Cindy said, "We're not friends and we probably never will be but we need to come to some sort of agreement."

After several moments of thought, the group began voicing their accordance with what had been said. Taking that first step of peace, Tina moved forward, extending a hand toward Puck. "S-sorry."

"Whatever," responded Puck, shaking her hand.

Mr. Schuester showed up on time, not in the best mood, but as the meeting stretched on, his attitude change. The group was performing differently somehow. In the middle of one of Rachel's high notes, it stuck him.

They were performing with more _harmony._

Smiling, Will thought that maybe, just maybe, his plan to achieve harmony hadn't gone so terribly awry.


	5. Break

_I just wanted to thank the two people who have reviewed this story and those that have added it to their story alerts. I'm having fun writing it and will continue to write it even if I receive a minimum amount of reviews. However...I do love reviews... So, if you have time or inclination, please review! Feel free to leave constructive criticism as well. :-D_

_**Break**_

_Speaking of harmony,_ thought Finn as rehearsal ended, his eyes on Rachel. Before Quinn could grab him, dragging him from the stage, he ran after Rachel, almost running right into her back. "Hey Rachel."

Casting a glance over her shoulder, she responded with a smile, "Hey Finn."

"So…are you busy?"

A slight frown touched her lips and a shiver of fear ran down his spine at the possibility that she might say yes. Remembering his harsh words from the previous week, he thought that he wouldn't blame her if she did refuse to give him any kind of audience. "No. Did you want to talk with me about something?"

"Yes." Relieved, Finn stopped at her locked, watching her as she removed her things. Her brown eyes remained locked on the insides of the locker, clearly avoiding his eyes. Swallowing, he said, "I, uh, just wanted to say sorry about, you know, snapping at you last week. I should've apologized to you earlier but I thought you might hate me."

"Hate you?" She transferred her eyes to his, a small amount of pain in hers at his belief. "I could never hate you Finn." Shutting her locker, she twisted her whole body to face him. "I was upset but it was no big deal. Let's just…pretend it never happened, okay?"

At the bright smile that lit up her face, Finn felt his knees grow a little weak. Rachel was at her most beautiful when she was dancing and singing on stage but even off, well, he would be lying if he denied that he found her stunning. "O-okay. Let's do that."

Bouncing a little, she moved towards him and embraced him with her free arm.

Surprised at the contact, he slowly wound his arms around her waist. Part of him never wanted the minute to end but it did, when she pulled back, swallowing and blinking rapidly.

"Um, and I never got to say thank you for getting that icepack for me on Monday."

"Anytime," he responded, hoping she didn't hear the slight break in his voice.

"See you tomorrow." And, with a wave, she was gone.

He watched her until she disappeared around the corner of the hall then started when a cool hand landed on his wrist. He turned to find his girlfriend staring at him with watery eyes.

"You like her, don't you?"

Finn knew that many people didn't like Quinn because of the way she behaved toward most of the student body but he knew there was more to her than met the eye. Like the soft voiced, vulnerable girl who stood before him. "I-"

"No, don't." She dropped her hand from his arm and crossed her arms over her chest, shivering as she did so. "I really don't know how you could like her over me but…I guess you do." Setting her face as hard as a stone, she narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not giving you up though."

Knowing what he had to do, but reluctant to do it, he shifted his eyes away from her. "Quinn…I think we need to…to give each other up. I think we need to…break up." Once the words were out, they hung in the air between them before Quinn fled, attempting to hide the tears that had already begun to fall. Hanging his head, Finn walked slowly down the hall.

- - - - - -

Not far away, Artie silently watched all from his locker. When Quinn spun in his direction, tears flowing, he froze, waiting to see if she would spot him. He half hoped she would but wasn't sure what her reaction would be. His mission to solve the mystery that was Quinn Fabray hadn't been going quite as well as he had desired, considering Quinn moved away from him every time he approached her.

Baring his teeth in an apprehensive expression, his eyes met Quinn's. Stopping in mid flight, she stared at him with wild eyes. "Were you listening?" she asked, clearly appalled.

Feeling embarrassed, for perhaps he should've wheeled himself away instead of eavesdropping, he shrugged. "Uh, I didn't mean to."

Snorting, she used her fingers to flick her tears away. "Sure you didn't. So you now you can use this against me, to damage my reputation. Good for you."

He shook his head quickly. "That wouldn't contribute to Glee's harmony. And anyway, that's not the kind of person I am."

"Everyone's like that," she shot back.

Slamming his locker shut, he pushed himself forward and looked up into her face. "Not me."

All her anger seemed to dissipate for a few seconds as they gazed into each other's eyes. Finally, he ended the stare down, placed his gloved hands on his wheels and rolled down the hallway.

Watching him, Quinn could only wonder, the pain of her recent break up forgotten if only for one moment, about the person that was Artie Abrams.


	6. Forever

_Author's Note: Oh, reviews! They make my happy! Thanks so much you who have reviewed! And I got two requests - one for more of Tina, one for more of Puck. This chapter has a lot of Tina but only a little Puck. I'll have a more Puck centric chapter later. :-) Please read and review!_

Tina loved Glee. Within the safe (well, safer) confines of the club she could smile, she could dance, she could _sing_, without stuttering a bit, and not worry what others thought. There wasn't the same judgment among the six; they were family. Then the others had joined. First it had only been Artie's band friends Thomas and Ryan who, though annoying in their pursuit of her, were nice guys. Plus, they were Artie's friends, which could only mean that she thought well of them. The other four additions to the club, Quinn, those other two Cheerios, and Puck, hadn't really thrilled her but she had chosen to take Artie's "Zen" approach to the matter. Up to a point, it had worked.

Then her fist had slammed into Puck's jaw and, for the first time, she considered that maybe being Zen wouldn't be so easy.

Only two days later, the club had made a pact to try to get along and Tina had taken the first step by apologizing to Puck. He hadn't acted very accepting but he had still taken her hand and, almost a week later, seemed to have no desire to further their confrontation, for which Tina was thankful. She wasn't usually the type to start physical fights but the insult directed at her best friend had just been too much.

That early October evening, the girls were on stage, practicing a song that Rachel had picked for them, feeling the heat of outside filter into the auditorium. Fanning herself with a hand, Quinn stopped dancing in the middle of the number, throwing everyone else off.

"It's too hot to do this," she complained. "Especially with the air conditioning broken."

"But..but.." Rachel sputtered. "But we have to! We haven't yet found the perfect song or routine for regional's and-"

"Regional's are in March," Mr. Schuester interrupted, noting the acidic glare that Quinn directed at Rachel. "We have plenty of time."

Rachel looked ready to object when Tina stepper forward, saying, "I a-agree with Qu-Quinn this t-time." Glancing at the more popular girl, Tina believed she was about smile in thanks for the accordance, but instead the girl scowled and tilted her head the opposite way.

"Fine," pouted a dejected Rachel. "If it's what everyone wants."

Everyone did seem to want it as no one else made any objections to Mr. Schuester's proposal. While making her way down the stairs off the stage, Thomas and Ryan practically accosted her.

"Hey Tina," said Thomas, eyes beaming. "Want to go to Roy's and get a shake with me?"

"Or," said Ryan, putting a hand on her arm. "You could come with me instead. I'm way cooler than Thomas."

"Ryan," whined Thomas in the most unappealing manner.

Noticing her plight, Artie rolled over and intercepted the trio before they could reach the aisle. "Sorry guys," he said, blocking the two boys from following Tina as she slipped around his wheelchair. "Tina and I already have plans."

Both boys looked sad for a moment, shrugged as one, then headed down the other aisle.

Grinning at her friend, Tina told him, "Thanks. I r-really didn't want to g-go with either of them."

"I know," he responded, a lopsided smile on his face. "Hey, I've got to get some things from my locker, but I'll meet you outside, okay? We can go to Roy's."

Nodding in agreement, Tina headed toward her own locker, glad that there was at least one person she could talk to without too much stuttering. Spinning the lock, she opened the metal locker and removed her purse, which contained all the money she had in the whole world. Fifteen dollars and twenty seven cents. Once that was retrieved, she slammed the locker shut and was shocked to find herself face to face with Puck. A sick feeling began in her stomach as she stared up into his dark eyes. Had he come to finish the fight she had begun? Gulping, she managed to squeak out, "P-Puck."

"Hey Tina," he replied, leaning in, the smell of his cologne wafting her way. "So I was thinking we could do something."

Confused, she cocked her head at an angle, wondering what he had in mind and hoping that it didn't involve balloons filled with any type of body fluid. "Uh, w-with m-m-me?"

"Yeah, you know, I think you're hot."

The confession was a little off putting and Tina had trouble retaining her balance.

"Especially after the other day, when you hit me. That was…hot."

Eyes growing by the second, Tina wondered if she was having a nightmare while she awake. "H-hot?"

"Hot," he repeated, his eyes roving her body, making her extremely uncomfortable. "I have my dad's pick up truck and I was thinking we could go park it somewhere…"

As his thought trailed off, Tina finished the rest in her mind. "N-no th-thanks," she said firmly, scooting around him and high tailing it to the front of the school. Once there, she tried to process what had just happened but was distracted by Artie coming towards her.

"You ready?"

"Yeah." Glancing over her shoulder, to make sure Puck wasn't stalking her or something, she placed her hands on the handles protruding from the back of Artie's chair, and began to push.

- - - - - - -

About twenty minutes later, the two friends sat in Roy's Diner, a chocolate shake in front of him and a strawberry one in front of her.

"Rachel says w-we shouldn't put st-stuff like this into our b-bodies."

Rolling his eyes, Artie took a swig of his shake. "Of course she did. Rachel's pretty…Rachel. And she has goals, as she tells us nearly every meeting. Nothing will keep her from attaining those goals, not even ice cream."

Nodding, Tina took a drink of her own thick shake, then said, "But I l-like her."

"Me too. I actually like most of Glee."

Thinking of Puck, a shiver ran up Tina's spine. "Except for Quinn, Jane, Cindy, and P-Puck, right?"

A strange look passed behind Artie's eyes at the name of the four teens but whatever he was thinking he didn't voice out loud.

Curious, Tina regarded him for a second, wondering if he was keeping secrets from her. In all the years the two had been best friends, they have never kept secrets. A vision of Puck telling her she was hot came to mind and she decided she wouldn't press the issue since she had a secret of her own.

"Hey, Tina?"

Withdrawing from her thoughts, she turned her eyes to Artie. "Yeah?"

"We haven't been hanging out all that much lately," he started, swirling his straw in the shake. "I miss it."

"Me t-too," she responded eagerly. "Even though we're busy with G-Glee, and you with the Math club and b-band, I think we should m-make it a point to h-hang out every once in awhile."

"I think so too. After all we've been through, it would be wrong to grow apart now. We still need each other. There's still Junior prom…and Senior prom…and graduation…"

Thinking about events that would take place so far in the future gave Tina a headache. "L-let's make it th-through Sophomore year first."

Laughing, Artie leaned forward to take a drink of his shake. "I think that would be a good idea but…I was just pointing out that there's more craziness ahead and I don't think I want to do it alone."

"M-me either," she responded. "B-but don't worry Artie. We've c-come this far. We'll be friends to the e-end. Friends forever."

"Friends forever. Yeah, of course."

Lapsing into silence, both teens avoided each other's eyes for a few seconds, as Artie thought about his interactions with Quinn, while Tina contemplated Puck asking her out. For a minute, both almost blurted out their secrets but, upon a second thought, they both remained silent.

Maybe another day the forever friends would reveal what they were holding within but that day, they chose not to, laughing over past memories instead.


	7. Simple

**_Simple_**

In a quiet classroom, all by herself, Tuesday afternoon, Quinn Fabray sat, staring blankly at an open math book and a sheet of paper. The second hand on the clock went around a few times before Quinn grasped her pencil in her hand began to write out the equation from the homework problems in the book. Brain hurting, she attempted to solve the very stupid equation of numbers, x's and y's but found herself going frustrated. After taking up a whole page of what she was sure was wrong, she let out a small scream and threw her eraser at the chalkboard. It hit with a clunk then fell to the ground.

Burying her head in her hands, Quinn tried to calm herself down. Mr. Peters was one of the only teachers in school who didn't seem to understand the importance of Cheerios. In her other classes, Quinn barely passed any of her tests but her teachers understood and always marked the tests higher. She was a Cheerio. She had more important things to do than homework. And now, with Glee, she had an added responsibility. But Mr. Peters insisted that she pass his class with a C or he would fail her, and then she would have to put her poms poms aside because of a low G.P.A. She was determined not to let that happen.

An "ahem" from the doorway of the room caused her to raise her head and she found herself staring into Artie's eyes.

"What do you want?" she snapped at him.

His eyes shot to the eraser on the floor, then he rolled himself over and picked it up. "I think you dropped this."

Rolling her eyes, she indicated a desk. "Just leave it there and I'll get it later."

Following her orders, he seemed prepared to leave when he blurt out, "You seem upset about something."

Holding her head erect, she assured him that he was fine. At her words, he shrugged his shoulders, placing his hands on his wheels. Remembering that he was the president of the math club, she was tempted to cry out for him to stop. Before she could further think about it, she called out, "Artie, wait!" Spinning around, he regarded her, one eyebrow raised in question. "Uh, it's…math. It's not…simple. Maybe you could help me with it?"

Seemingly taken aback by her request, he didn't respond at first. Biting his top lip, he looked into the hall before saying, "Sure, I can help you." Grateful, she grabbed her stuff and moved to a desk that was on the periphery of the classroom, which granted him the access he needed to sit next to her in his wheelchair. "You know, math is actually pretty simple. You just have to look at it the right way."

Shaking her head, she placed the math book before him and pointed to the problem that earlier given her so much pain. "Quadratic equations are not simple."

Leaning forward, he started to explain the principles of quadratic problems while Quinn attentively listened, head tilted to one side. At one point, he glanced up at her, to see if she was following along with what he was saying and with what he was scribbling on the paper. Smiling, she let him know that she was. Yet, even though she was, she couldn't help but notice the intense blue of his eyes. Swallowing, she found herself suddenly having trouble concentrating. She had been close enough to really see the color of his eyes only once before.

"Not me," he had told her.

He wasn't like everyone else and Quinn believed it. Reaching for the eraser, the tips of his fingers brushed her knuckles and she could feel the calluses that had formed from years of playing the guitar. For a fleeting moment, she wondered what those fingers would feel like on the skin of her face.

"Quinn?"

Lurching, she faced him. "I'm sorry, I missed that last piece."

He went over it one more time, then handed Quinn the pencil. "Think you want to try?"

Taking the pencil, she attempted the equation he had put at the top of the page and was surprised that it was so easy.

"You got it right!"

Overjoyed, she almost leaned over and hugged him, but stopped herself at the last minute. Glancing at Artie, she realized he might be right about math. It could be simple. But other things, things like boys who wore glasses and were confined to wheelchairs, weren't so simple.

- - - - - - -

Spinning the combination to her locker, Tina couldn't help but look furtively around. It seemed every day Puck was close to her locker, just waiting to ask her to go parking with him. And every day she refused. It was bad enough having Thomas and Ryan constantly fighting over her affection but it was even worse having the football player stalking her. Not that he was actually stalking her but it was close enough. She figured he remained so persistent only because no other girl had refused to go parking with him before. Sighing, Tina closed her locked, glad that Puck hadn't shown up.

"Tina?"

Startled Tina spun around to find herself face to face with a petite strawberry blonde whose face was covered with freckles. "Oh, hi K-Katie."

"Didn't mean to startle you," the girl said sheepishly. "But I was curious as to whether you know the whereabouts of Artie. Math club is supposed to start but he's not present."

Shaking her head, Tina stuttered, "N-no. S-sorry K-Katie."

Obviously upset the girl said, "Thanks anyway," then headed back down the hall to the room where the math club met.

Wondering herself why Artie was missing math club, something he very rarely did, Tina began her amble down the hall but was stopped when a hand pulled her to the wall. Eyes wide, she twirled to see Puck, brown eyes fixed on her.

"I'll ask you again Tina."

"A-and I'll s-say n-n-no aga-again."

Frustrated, Puck let out an almost feral growl.

Frustrated herself, Tina remembered when relationships with boys had been much more simple. Back in kindergarten. The first boy who had ever liked her had chased her around the playground, trying to steal a kiss. The only reason he had caught her was because he had grabbed her by the hair, yanking her to the ground. Once there, he had pressed his lips to hers in short kiss. Then he had run away, manically laughing. Incensed, little Tina had raced after him, pummeling him with her fists until a teacher had separated them and put Tina on timeout. The very next day, the whole incident had been forgotten and the boy had gone back to just being her friend. Yes, that had been much more simple.

"What's your problem Tina? I mean, a lot of girls would love to get this offer."

"Th-then ask th-them. B-but I'm n-not inter-interested."

Stepping closer to her, she could feel the heat radiating off his body. "I chased you then and I'll chase you now."

Jutting out her chin, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Th-this t-t-time you won't c-catch me."

Reaching out, he grasped her hair, letting the silky strands slip through his fingers. "Whatever you say Tina C." Smirking, he sauntered away, turning once to wink at her, before he disappeared around the corner.

Agitated, Tina wished that Puck would just forget about whatever fascination he had with her, as he had in kindergarten, because Tina didn't like it when things got complicated.

- - - - - - -

Finn's life had been much simpler before he had joined Glee. Well, truth be told, Finn's life had been much simpler before Rachel Berry had entered it, bringing with her a complexity of emotions that Finn had never before experienced. Sometimes she drove him crazy and all he could think about was shutting her up with a big kiss. Other times, she looked into his eyes and he believed she understood him better than anyone.

At that moment, however, she was making him hold back laughter as she told him about the time she had performed "Les Miserables".

"Wait," said Finn, stopping her just as she was reaching the end of her tale. "You were really only five years old then?" She nodded in confirmation. "And you had memorized the entire musical?"

"It's always been my favorite," she said, as if that would explain away his amazement. "There's a video of my performing it, if you ever want to see it."

"I _would _like to see it sometime," he told her, kicking his heels against the stage and thinking about Rachel at five. He figured she had probably been one who had pushed her boundaries just as far as she could. A smile played on his face as he pictured a stubborn five year old Rachel belting out the tune from her favorite musical. Without meaning to, he laughed.

Frowning, Rachel glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, her long hair sliding down over her shoulder and almost reaching her lap. "What's so funny?"

"Uh…" Taking a deep breath, he said, "I was just imagining you performing Les Miserables as a five year old."

Excited about something, she suddenly swiveled her whole body to face him, a light shining out of her eyes. "You've seen Les Mis?"

"Actually," he replied, moving in position so that he was also facing her. In the process, his knee (unintentionally, he told himself) made contact with hers. Ignoring the feeling that spread from the touch up to his cheeks (and maybe to his heart), he went on with his statement. "I never really have. My mom was watching the movie version this one time and I overheard some of the songs. I was just picturing you singing the pieces I know."

Disappoint clouded Rachel's features. "Oh."

"But, hey," he said, quickly, wanting the light to return to her eyes. "We could watch it together some time. You could…teach me about it."

"Really?" Luminous eyes met his and one of her small hands wrapped around one of his. "That would be wonderful!"

Heady because of the entire situation, Finn felt his body, completely of it's own accord, lean forward. His eyes moved from hers to land on her full lips. As the distance between them lessened, Finn felt his heart beat faster, his pulse race wildly. Had he dreamed of that instance before? He thought he must've because what was occurring felt all to familiar.

The intensity of the moment, however, was interrupted, when Rachel leapt off the stage, grinning up at him once her feet hit the floor. "I have to get home," she said, already beginning the trek up the aisle.

Caught off guard, Finn blinked a couple of times before jumping from his perch on the stage and marching after her. Confused, he opened the door for her, glimpsing a troubled look on her pretty face. Perhaps he had read the signs wrong. Letting out a deep sigh, he followed Rachel out of the building, thinking how their relationship had become so complex in such a short time.

It wasn't at all simple but, despite the fact that she had dodged his kiss, he was okay with that. Because no matter how many times Rachel avoided his romantic interest, he wasn't giving up.

Because Finn believed that they were two stars, destined to eventually collide.


	8. Regional's

_As one reviewer pointed out, there has been a lack of Mercedes and Kurt in this story. Though I do have a storyline for them, I've been having trouble figuring out how to write Mercedes as a character (hopefully she's not OOC). Also, I'm having a ton of fun writing the romance-ish storylines, in particular Artie and Quinn's. Anyway, Kurt and Mercedes are back in this chapter, carrying on the storyline I started with them in chapter one._

**_Regional's_**

There was something that Will Schuester had been keeping secret from the members of New Directions for entirely too long. In the middle of October, regional's were only five short months (at least, he believed the five months would pass by quickly enough to be considered short) away. And although New Directions had come very far, it hadn't come far enough. The teens needed to step up their game, especially because Principal Figgins had threatened to end Glee club if they didn't show at regional's.

As he came into the band room that October evening, he surveyed the kids, noting with pleasure that Cindy was fraternizing with everyone, though Quinn, Puck and Jane still remained distant. That, however, was something he couldn't worry about. His main concern was motivating the students without creating any type of suspicion. He supposed he could simply tell them what the Principal had said but he was afraid that if he did that would suck all the glee right out of Glee.

Sighing, he clapped his hands together and brought the meeting to an open.

- - - - - - -

Later, after practice, five members of Glee made their way home in the waning light of day.

"Mr. Schuester seemed…driven today," commented Kurt.

"Of course he did!" Rachel exclaimed. "Regional's are right around the corner and we're no where good enough to show at this point."

"Girl, you need to chill out. Regional's are in March."

"Mercedes," said Rachel, wide eyes directed at her fellow Glee-mate. "Don't you think I know that? But March will be here sooner that we think and we simply won't be prepared!"

"Ah, Rachel," Artie spoke up, prepared to comfort. "Don't be so distressed. Everything will work out. And anyway, having fun is more important that showing at regional's, right?"

"A-Artie's right," said Tina quietly. "W-we just n-need to do ou-our best. If we w-win, we win. Th-that's just a p-perk."

Rolling her eyes at her friend's much too optimistic outlooks on life, Rachel crossed her arms over her chest. "We can have fun but not at the expense of winning."

"I actually agree with Little Miss Diva," said Mercedes, jerking a thumb in Rachel's direction. "But I have feeling that winning won't be an easy task with Quinn, Puck, Cindy and Jane on our team."

Artie and Tina both tensed up at the mention of two of the names, causing Tina to bring Artie, who she had been pushing, to a stop for a minute. Realizing what she had done, Tina quickly moved forward.

"What do they have to do with us winning or not winning?" questioned Artie.

"Well," began Kurt, hand on hip. "Mercedes and I still believe that they want to sabotage the club. They don't seem to care about it. They don't always show up for rehearsals. They scoff at the songs we pick out. If they hate the club and all it's members, then why did they join?"

Speaking as if everything was falling into place in her brain, Rachel almost whispered, "They want to destroy us. They want to take away our chance at fame."

Scrunching his brow, Artie forced him to remain calm as he voiced his own thoughts. "Come on guys. You don't really think they'd do anything, do you? It's too much of a conspiracy theory for me to believe."

Mercedes glared at Artie, then shook her head. "Can't see what's right in front of you? I'm sure Mr. S won't be able to either. That's why Kurt and I are going to come up with some proof."

"Good idea," cried Rachel. "Then, when you have it, you can present it to Mr. Schuester and he'll force them to leave the club."

A sinking feeling in his chest at the thought of Quinn leaving Glee, Artie said, "But then we'll be down to eight members."

"Oh," responded Rachel, waving her hand in the air as if his thought didn't hold any weight. "We'll figure that out when the time comes."

Coming to the place where they all separated, except for Tina and Artie, they exchanged goodbye's.

Pursing her lips, Tina focused her gaze on the top of Artie's head. It was a sight she had practically memorized in the long time the two friends had known each other. "You know, I could h-help Kurt and M-Mercedes." Swallowing, she prepared herself to reveal Puck's continued pursuit of her, knowing that she could trust Artie.

"How?"

Coming to his porch, she pushed him to the step, avoiding the ramp on purpose, and sat down, looking up at him. "Puck has this w-weird cr-crush on me...and has been a-asking me out."

"What?!?!?"

At Artie's cry of disbelief, Tina winced. "He's asked me out s-six times in the last few wee-weeks."

Eyes almost bulging out, Artie exclaimed, "And you didn't tell me? Why wouldn't you…" Trailing off, he glanced down at this hands, seeming to examine the fraying edges of the fingerless gloves he often wore.

Tina knew Artie too well to simply let the moment pass. "What?" Slowly, his drifted up until they met hers and within them she glimpsed the truth. Well, part of the truth at least. "You're k-keeping something from me t-too, aren't you?"

A great whoosh of air exited his mouth as he nodded. "Mine is even more unbelievable than Puck asking you out."

Growing more curious by the second, Tina scooted to the edge of the bench, practically falling off in the process. "T-tell me!"

Knowing that if Quinn knew he had spoken a word of it to anyone (her silent threats had not by any means gone over his head), she would be angrier than the proverbial hornet, he whispered, "I've been tutoring Quinn in math for a few weeks."

For a moment, when Tina didn't move or speak, Artie wondered if the shock had been too much for her, but then she started laughing. "Th-that's not that h-huge Artie."

Scowling, he said, "Well, Quinn doesn't want anyone to know."

"Th-that's because she's petty and im-immature." Standing, Tina smoothed the plaid skirt she was wearing, then placed her hands on the wheelchairs handlebars and began pushing Artie to the ramp that allowed him to reach the porch. "I th-think I'll say yes n-next time Puck asks me out. I'll do m-my own in-investigating."

Lost in thoughts of Quinn, Artie barely heard Tina's statement. "Uh huh."

Narrowing her eyes, Tina asked, "You w-weren't even listening!"

"Quinn's not really petty," Artie commented, still ignoring Tina. "Immature, yes. But I don't think-"

Confused at Artie's behavior, Tina interrupted his thought. "You don't l-like her, do you?"

The idea had crossed his mind but he hadn't given it much validity. Just because being within any small distance of her caused an increase in his heart rate did not mean he had feelings beyond tutor for her. "Of course not!"

"W-wait!" exclaimed Tina, as she recalled running into Katie weeks previously. "That's wh-why you've been m-missing math club!"

"I don't like her," Artie insisted, wrenching his wheels away from her and rolling to his door. "Let's just drop it, okay?"

Though agreeing in that instant, Tina had already made up her mind to bring it up later but, as she walked away from Artie's door, she began to piece together the outfit she would wear on her first date with Puck. Not that it really mattered… She didn't, after all, have any feelings for the boy. The date was merely a way to discover why he had joined Glee. And that was _all_ it was_._

_- - - - - - _

Kurt and Mercedes were of one mind when it came to the four newest members of New Directions, especially Puck and Quinn.

"They're up to something," Kurt said as the two sat on his front porch, drinking sodas.

"We've already been over this a dozen times! Of course they're up to something. But what and how?"

Scratching his chin, Kurt just shrugged. "I guess they would want to hit us where it hurts."

Thinking a moment, Mercedes took a long drink from the can of grape soda before it hit her. "They're going to drive Rachel away somehow. I hate to admit this," the girl grumbled. "But Rachel's the best we've got. We need her to win regional's."

Arching an eyebrow and pouting out his lips a little, Kurt considered Mercedes speculation. "You think the break up was staged?" Mercedes nodded grimly. "I don't know… But you might be right about regional's." Then, as one, the two sat up straight and shouted, at the same time, "Regional's!" Kurt finished the thought. "They're going to sabotage regional's!"

Angry, Mercedes leaned heavily against a beam. "But we won't let them. We'll find the evidence they need then disrupt what ever plans they have. They won't sabotage this Glee club!"

Banging their cans together, they both took a drink, as a sign of the agreement into which they had both entered into.


	9. Parking

_Ugh, I just realized that I'm not happy with that last chapter...but there's no taking it back now. I think this chapter's a bit better. Plus, it's a closer look at Puck, which a reviewer request awhile ago. Please review and let me know what you think! :-D_

**_Parking_**

First dates had never been Puck's thing so when his father had given him his pick up truck, right before high tailing it out of town with that fake blonde waitress, Puck had chosen to skip over first dates and head straight to parking, where looking at the scenery wasn't exactly what he planned to with whatever girl he had invited along. That being the case, getting ready for a night of parking had never made him in the least bit nervous. Usually, he simply made sure the shirt he put on was mostly clean, then headed out in his truck to the lucky girl's home. Yet that night, for some reason, he felt sick. Tugging of the fifth shirt, he headed toward his closet, briefly wondering what Tina's favorite color was. Angry at himself for caring, he grabbed the closest shirt to him, a light blue one, and put it on.

Just when he had decided to change, because he thought he may have something better, Finn came in, flopping down on Puck's unmade bed.

"Hey man, want to go see a movie or something?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, Puck said, "No, I got plans."

Propping himself up on his elbows, Finn surveyed the tossed aside shirts that were draped over the sparse furniture in the room. "Ah, going parking. Who's the lucky girl?" Kicking at a red and black striped polo that was hanging by a sleeve on the end of the bed, Finn commented, "She must be lucky since you're going through your whole wardrobe to impress her."

"I'm not trying to impress her," growled Puck, glancing at himself in the small mirror that hung beside his closet and smoothing his hair. "All those shirts are dirty."

Knowing Puck was lying, but not willing to call him on it, Finn said, "Oookay. So, who's the girl?"

The strange feeling he had been having since Tina said yes came over him but Puck managed to control himself enough to answer, "No one you know. She's too cool to be part of your circle."

Again, Puck was being dishonest, but Finn couldn't figure out why. Usually his best friend liked to brag about his "conquests." Shrugging, Finn stood from the bed. "Whatever. Maybe Rachel's free tonight."

"Rachel?" Puck snorted. "That girl's a complete freak." That he had called the girl he would be parking with that night the same thing didn't bother him. Well, maybe it bothered him a bit. "Why do you like her so much?"

"I…" Finn tried to tackle the question but emotions weren't football. "I don't know. She's pretty, smart, a really good singer. Sometimes, when I look into her eyes, I feel that she knows everything about me and she accepts everything about me. That's a nice feeling, you know?"

Scrunching up one side of his face, Puck regarded Finn in disdain. "Are you done reciting poetry now?"

Holding in his anger, Finn responded, "Hey, you asked."

"Didn't expect you to get all flowery on me."

Grinding his teeth, Finn headed out. "Have fun parking," he called over his shoulder.

"I will," retorted Puck, before spinning to his closet and selecting a different shirt, this one yellow. It would be his final choice.

- - - - - -

Fifteen minutes later, Tina bounded out of her house to Puck's waiting truck. Getting in, she managed a small smile, simultaneously reminding herself that she was doing this for the team and noting that he looked particularly attractive in his red and black striped shirt. Without even a word in greeting, he took off, the engine rumbling. Glancing out the window, Tina saw her mother and father, huddled together on the porch, watching as she drove off in "some boy's" truck. Neither one had wanted her to go out with "some boy" but, in the end, Tina had convinced them by bursting into tears. Since Tina rarely cried, her parents had reluctantly given it, though they hadn't been able to turn off their concern. Twisting back to face the front, her eyes skimming over Puck as she did so, she wasn't so sure she didn't share their concern.

"I'm h-hungry," she told him, clenching her hands in her lap.

"Hungry?" he echoed, his tone filled with anger. "This isn't a date. I asked you to go parking with me, remember?"

"I re-remember," she replied, resentfully. "B-but I can't help th-that I'm h-h-hungry!"

"You should've eaten already," he spat back, turning his wheel and taking them left.

Believing she had lost the argument, and not caring to argue anymore, Tina slumped in her seat, dreading the parking that would come too soon. How could she possibly resist his advances without arousing his suspicions? Feeling sick, she looked out the window and was shocked to see they were entering the drive thru of the town's Taco Bell.

"What do you want?" he asked her, voice dripping with venom.

Confused as to why he would take her to eat when he had seemed so set against it, she stammered out an order. When he didn't even ask her to pay, she was more surprised.

When they reached the scenic overlook, the two quietly devoured their own food, though Tina took considerably longer than Puck to do so. Not wanting to lose the opportunity to investigate, she asked, in an attempt at what she hoped sounded like polite conversation, "Wh-why did you j-join Glee?"

As he gripped the steering wheel, she could almost feel the anger radiating off of him. Why was he such an angry young man? "Why shouldn't I? I can sing and stuff. You needed people. It was mutually beneficial, or whatever. What, you don't like that I joined or something?"

Bristling at the accusation, Tina almost asked him straight up if he and Quinn meant to break the club in some way. "N-no. I was j-just t-t-talking." Swallowing her last bit of food, and noting the predatory look that entered his eye, she quickly asked another question. "Do y-you t-take all your g-girls here?"

Already scooted half way across the bench seat, he paused, then looked out across the valley. For a minute, the anger evaporated and all Tina saw was a vulnerable sixteen year old boy. "No," he said softly. "I used to come here with my dad…" Stopping himself, he turned towards her. "But I didn't come here to talk."

Widening her eyes, she backed herself up against the truck's door, placing her hands in front of her as a guard. "I-I-I…" she sputtered, her stutter becoming almost too much for her in that instant.

Seeing the fear in her eyes, Puck stopped coming towards her. "You knew what I asked you here to do."

"Y-yes," she said, the anxiety inside of her easing. "B-but I ch-changed my mind."

Grunting, Puck didn't reply. Instead, he moved back to his side of the cab, started the truck, then put it in reverse. Not long after, he was dropping her off at her house where, Tina was grateful to see, her parent's weren't still standing on the porch. "I'm s-sorry," she said, hesitating before closing the door. "I j-just don't f-feel com-comfortable p-p-parking. Maybe s-sometime we c-can go on a r-real date." Perplexed at the words she had uttered, and not sure why she had said them, she smiled, then closed the door, but not too soon to hear him mutter "Maybe."

Once on her porch, she whipped her cell phone out, pressing Artie's speed dial. He was on after one ring, asking her how everything had gone on the parking excursion. She related the entire tale then waited to hear his conclusion.

"Do you like him Tina?"

Parking with Puck had revealed a side to him that she had never before seen but, instead of voicing that, she said, "I'll admit him I-I like him if you admit th-that you like Qu-Quinn."

Pausing, Artie cleared his throat. "Fine. Be that way."

Hating to be so closed with her best friend, Tina sighed. Though she would love to honest with Artie, she knew she didn't know how she could be truly honest with him, since she didn't understand how she felt herself.


	10. Talent

_Wow, I'm on a roll tonight, lol. This is the third chapter I've written tonight... I must admit that I really didn't know exactly where I was going with this at first but the story knew so it directed me in that way. Again, thanks for the reviews! Please keep reviewing...every one motivates me to write more!_

The fall semester talent show was fast approaching and Finn decided that he and Rachel should perform something from "Les Miserables." It would be the perfect opportunity for him to tell her how he really felt. Though it hadn't been that long since his break up with Quinn, he was ready to move on, and to do so with Rachel. He couldn't pinpoint exactly when his feelings had transformed for the petite but powerful singer but figured they must've been changing since she had lunged toward him while singing a song from "Grease" on his very first day in Glee.

However, any carefully made plans he may have laid were thrown asunder when Mr. S announced that they would be performing in the talent show as a group.

As a collective, the group groaned.

Kurt stepped forward, jutting out his jaw as he spoke. "Mr. Schuester, that is simply unacceptable. I already made plans with Mercedes to perform something. You cannot just expect us to-"

"I understand that you're upset Kurt." He glanced around, a hidden fear in his eyes that only Finn and Rachel noticed. "But consider this extra practice. For regional's."

The answer didn't satisfy Kurt who opened his mouth to protest once more.

"Yeah, Mr. S," spoke up Finn, cutting the other boy off before he could even begin. "That's a good idea." Thinking of what could've transpired between he and Rachel, his heart sunk a little but he didn't allow his emotions to show. He would just have to put his feelings to the side for a little while longer. "The talent show is in the middle of November. That's only two weeks away. That doesn't give us much time."

Any further complaints about competing as one in the talent show were stowed away as Finn led them in discussing what song they could sing. As usual, the group couldn't come to a consensus.

"Alright, alright!" cried Mr. S, at his wits end with the group that only managed to be harmonious some of the time. "I'll just pick something." Frustrated, the teacher stormed out of the theater.

Frowning, Rachel watched as the door to the auditorium slammed shut before saying, "Something's bothering Mr. Schuester."

"I think you're right," responded Finn, eyes glued on the door the teacher had just exited. "And I think I know how we can cheer him up."

"How?" asked Mercedes skeptically, crossing her arms over her chest.

Artie rolled forward, eagerly sharing his thought. "By coming up with a great song for the talent show?"

"Exactly!" Finn cried, excitedly. "Instead of arguing, let's try to do that harmony thing we agreed to in September."

Rather reluctantly, everyone mumbled their agreement and pretty soon things were underway.

- - - - - -

Agitated not with the teens but with Principal Figgins and Sue Sylvester, one for not believing in the Glee kids and the other for wanting the school to forever remain in a caste system, Will roamed the halls, taking deep breaths in order to calm himself. Passing by the guidance counselor's office he couldn't help but stick his head in to see if his staunchest supporter was there. The glow of the computer screen in the otherwise dark room alerted him that _someone_ was there.

"Emma?"

Startled, he heard a feminine "oh!" then, "Will? Is that you?"

Turning on the light, Will smiled at his fellow teacher, crossing the room to slide in the seat opposite her. "What are you doing here?" he asked, glancing at the lap top.

Smiling, she shut it. "Doing a little research for some of our seniors who don't know what to do after they graduate."

"In the dark?"

Shrugging, she said, "I turned the light off because I couldn't stand not being able to see the light of the full moon pour through my window."

"Ah." Standing, he rose, leaving a confused Emma at the table. Flicking off the light, he returned to the table once more. "I like the light of the full moon too."

A silence settled between them before Emma finally asked the question she had been poised to ask ever since he had stuck his head through the door. "What's wrong Will?"

Placing his chin in one hand, he looked at her and, even in the faintly lit room, she could see the glum expression that had arrested his features. "It's Glee. The kids are so full of…talent. So much talent. But they're not using that talent! They're not putting their all into their performances. If this continues, I don't think we'll be able to show at regional's."

Disturbed by everything about Will's statement, Emma lightly touched the back of Will's hand that rested on the table. "Regional's isn't for months. But is that really what's important to you? I thought Glee was about discovering the talent you just mentioned, not placing in any competition."

Divulging the information to his colleague might not have been the best idea but Will needed to discuss it with someone and his wife was busy with Sheets and Things, so, with a sigh, he told her what Figgins had said about what would happen if New Directions didn't show at regional's. "And, on top of that, Sue is constantly telling me that Glee will fail. Sometimes I think she knows something that I don't. Or haven't admitted to myself."

Incensed over the treatment of poor Will and his club, Emma balled her hidden hand into a fist. "Will, don't give up hope. Those kids can do it, and so can you. Maybe Figgins doesn't believe in you or Glee, maybe Sue doesn't, maybe no one at this school does, but I do. And maybe you won't show in regional's, maybe Glee will be disbanded next year. That means you should put every effort into making this year wonderful for those kids." Her tone became softer as she almost whispered the end of her thoughts, "Put your heart into it Will."

Visibly encouraged by her rousing words, Will stood up. "You're right Emma. That's what I'm going to do. This year at least, those kid's talent won't be wasted." He left the classroom but not before, calling over his shoulder, "Thanks!"

And, alone again, in the dark, Emma opened her computer, stared at the screen for a minute, then slowly resumed what she had been doing before Will had come in.

- - - - - -

Over the next two weeks, Will put his whole heart into Glee, pouring out his enthusiasm at every rehearsal. The kids were very aware of his mood change and couldn't help but start to put more effort into the performance they were practicing for the talent show. Even Puck, Quinn and Jane, the three who often held back, strove for excellence.

When the talent show finally arrived, Will found himself rather anxious for the show to begin. Out in the hall, Sue was escorting an elderly lady down the hall.

"Hello Will," she said to him, in that way that managed to convey that she thought she was much better than him. "This is my mother, Anne. She loves to come to the fall and spring talent shows, for some reason."

The elderly woman smiled at him, her wrinkled face full of joy. "I don't get out much," she told him. "And it's nice to see the young people try to succeed."

"Try is the right word Mom," sneered Sue. "Because none of the kids at this school have any real talent."

Grinding his teeth, Will excused himself, than hurried inside. A few minutes later, the lights dimmed and the show began.

New Directions was last to perform and Will was on the edge of his seat as his kids took the stage. Emma, who sat beside him, seemed equally nervous and excited. Behind him, he heard Sue whisper to her mother, "This should be good," sarcastically.

And then they sang, danced, rolled (in Artie's case) better than they had at any rehearsal. As they exited the stage, once their performance was done, the applause was deafening. But it wasn't too loud for Will to hear Sue's mother say to her daughter, "My, my, those children have talent."


	11. Confrontation

_I'm not terribly happy with this chapter...it feels forced, for some reason. But hopefully you who read it will enjoy it! :-)_

**_Confrontation_**

Riding the high that performing in the talent show had produced, the New Directions teens showed up to rehearsal the following Monday ready to try something new. All at once, they talked a mile a minute, sharing ideas for songs. From the floor, Will gazed at the kids, his eyes shining as even Puck contributed to the ideas. His smile soon became a frown, however, when he noticed Quinn standing off to the side, glaring at her peers. Closing his eyes, he steeled himself for the confrontation he was sure to come when he attempted to talk to the girl, yet he knew he must. So, he headed toward the stairs then paused when he noticed someone else approaching Quinn. Deciding to hang back, but ready to spring into action if needed, he watched the interaction of the two.

They had all just begun talking when Artie realized that Quinn hadn't joined in the fray. Looking around, he saw her standing to the sidelines, a strange expression on her face. Her eyes were narrowed but she wasn't quite glaring at the others as much as glaring…beyond them. His mind debated his heart about whether or not to ask her what was wrong and, in the end, his heart won out.

"Hey Quinn," he said, adjusting his glasses slightly. "Don't you have any, you know, ideas?" Wincing at the way he phrased his question, he stammered, "I-I mean, of course you have ideas. But I meant about songs, dance moves, you know, Glee stuff."

Not infusing any emotion into her voice, she said flatly, "No, I don't."

Concerned, he rolled forward a little more. "Is…everything okay?"

Frozen, she continued to stare straight ahead. "I'm fine Artie." Finally moving, she shifted on her feet. "Just leave me alone," she added, in a voice that sounded more defeated than anything else.

Discouraged, Artie was about to leave when Quinn stiffened. Following her gaze, he saw Finn talking to Rachel and touching her gently on the arm. Striding forward, Quinn moved between the two and Artie watched, trying not to feel so hurt.

"I know," Quinn spoke up, mock cheerfulness in her voice. "Since Rachel and Finn sound sooo good together, they can just perform together every rehearsal and leave us out."

For a moment, it didn't seem Rachel would oppose the idea. "N-no, Glee is about all of us, working together."

"Yeah Quinn. Why would you even suggest that?" Finn shook his head.

Her bottom lip quivering, Quinn said, "It's obvious that Rachel wants the whole show to herself. Oh, I'm sorry. She wants the show to center on you and her, Finn."

Rachel took a step toward Quinn. "Ha. That's hilarious coming from you, who thinks the whole world revolves around you."

In a move that took everyone off guard, Quinn reached out and grabbed Rachel's shirt, almost ripping the material. "I do not-"

"Girls! Girls!" called out Mr. Schuester rushing onstage and separating them. "Alright, everyone else out of the auditorium." The other students exited while Mr. Schuester stood on stage, evaluating the situation. "Okay, you two need to work out whatever problems you've been having,which I have noticed by the way, without resorting to violence," he added, sending Quinn a warning glance. "But, just in case, I'll stay up here, while you two sit in the back and talk over what's going on."

Both girls obeyed, stomping to the auditorium, finding seats next to one another. Neither seemed inclined to talk. After what felt like forever, Rachel said, "I know you don't like me, I know nothing will ever change that. But I just don't understand why."

"Because you're a freak," responded Quinn, slumping in her seat.

"But that doesn't explain anything. I'm just a nobody while you're popular. You have the fame I've always wanted. It's almost like you're…threatened by me."

Suddenly sitting up straight, Quinn shot daggers at Rachel with her eyes. "I would never be threatened by you. I'm better than you in every way. I just like people to know that."

Furrowing her brow, Rachel regarded Quinn for several moments before saying, "I heard you asking your mom where your dad was at the talent show."

Bristling, Quinn leaned forward. "So? I asked and he wasn't there. He had more important things to do."

"More important than watching his daughter compete in the talent show?" Quinn's reaction led Rachel to believe that she had hit a nerve. Gulping, Rachel wished she could take the words back because she wasn't interested in a more heightened confrontation.

"You wouldn't understand," replied Quinn, her tone seeped in bitterness. Settling into her own thoughts, Quinn grew quiet as Rachel averted her eyes and started to realize that Quinn Fabray was a real person.

A person who probably wanted her father to acknowledge her achievements, even those achievements were ones that Quinn didn't seem to care about too much herself.

"Mr. Scheuster," called out Rachel, raising her head. The teacher, upon hearing his name, came to stand in the aisle next to where the two girls were seated.

"We've been talking and we're both sorry, right Quinn?"

Slightly surprised, Quinn mumbled, "Uh, right."

Mr. Schuester rose a skeptical eyebrow then said, "Okay. But no more confrontations."

"Yes Mr. Schuester," the girls replied in unison.

As they walked out into the school's halls, Rachel caught Quinn's eye. "I'm not trying to… I mean, with Finn. I just…"

"Save your breath," Quinn spat. "It doesn't matter what _you're_ trying to do because he clearly likes you. Let's just drop it and never talk again."

Unhappy, Rachel watched Quinn walk away. Sure, Rachel didn't trust Quinn and she didn't particularly like her either but for just a second, as they sat in the theater seats, she had thought there might have been a chance for them to be friends…

- - - - - - -

Slouching in the cheerleading coach's office, Quinn barely listened as Coach Sylvester asked them how the plan was going. Jane responded for all four of them, cheerfully relaying that everything was going well.

That the members of New Directions had no idea about their plans of sabotage.

"I think we should wait until regional's," Jane was saying. "That would be the worst and would, like, guarantee the end of the club."

When none of the other three teens in the room, Quinn, Cindy, or Puck, cried out with genuine enthusiasm over Jane's idea, the Coach turned cold eyes at them. "What does everyone else think?"

Numb, Quinn's mind time traveled her back to the day she had told her parents she was joining Glee. It had caused quite the confrontation in her home.

"_You're…joining _that_ club! Why on earth would you do that? From what I've heard, only losers join," her father yelled, thick arms crossed over his chest. "Tell me this is just a bit of insanity that will soon pass."_

_Holding her chin high, Quinn held in the tears that she felt gathering in the corners of her eyes. Of course, she didn't really care about Glee and her dad's assessment of those who joined the club, minus Finn, was correct, but it would've been nice had he been supportive. For what if she had actually wanted to be a part of Glee? But no, her father had a plan for her life and joining a singing club was not in that plan. It seemed everyone had a plan for her - Coach Sylvester, her dad. She wondered briefly if she would ever get to make her own plans._

"_Are you even listening to me little girl?"_

_Behind her dad stood her mom, looking apologetic but saying nothing, as usual._

"_I am Daddy," she crooned, placing her hand on his arm. "And don't worry. I didn't _really_ join Glee. It's all part of Coach Sylvester's plan. We're going to destroy the club so they won't detract from the Cheerio's prestige. And the coach said something about making sure the caste system stayed in place…"_

_His angry demeanor disappeared and he bent down to give his daughter on the cheek. "That's my girl."_

_As she watched him walk away, the hot tears stung her eyes again but she held them back. One look at her mom almost made her give in. Her mom looked…disappointed in her. Upset, she had gone into her room, where she could let the tears fall. _

_Splotches of wetness on her pink pillowcase that no one would ever see…_

"Are you even listening?" Coach's sharp voice interrupted Quinn's memory. "Puck, Cindy and Jane all pledged to do everything in their power to damage New Direction's chance at winning in regional's. Are you in?"

Staring round the room, she met Cindy's hesitant gaze, Puck's unsure one, Jane's jubilant one and Coach's questioning one. Swallowing the doubt that crept over her mind, she forced a smile on to her face. "I'm in."

Even if she was starting to like Glee and those that participated in it she had a duty to the Cheerios, to Coach, to her dad…


	12. Risk

_I'm really enjoying the Quinn and Puck storylines but I need to write about other characters, don't I? Taking the reviews I've gotten so far into account, I believe this chapter will be well liked (I hope!!!) even though it is a little short._

**_Risk_**

"So, going anywhere for Thanksgiving?" Wiping sweaty hands on his jeans, Finn anxiously waited to hear Rachel's answer, while at the same time wondering why he should be so nervous asking a simple question. Perhaps it was because if she told him she was staying in town, he was going to ask her on a date. A real one, with a nice dinner where he would his best khaki pants. But he had never felt so queasy asking a girl out before.

"Uh," replied Rachel, glancing way up at the boy who was much taller than her. "My dads and I are going to visit one set of grandparents. They live in Maine."

"Maine?" Blinking several times, he processed the information. "So are you going to have lobster for your main dish?"

Staring into her locker, Rachel wrinkled her nose, creating the most adorable expression on her face. "Why would we have lobster? It's Thanksgiving. We're having turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, you know, all the traditional stuff."

"Ah, I don't know," responded Finn, his hand shooting up to rub the back of his head. "It's Maine, you know, they have a lot of lobster there."

"Yes, I know."

The two lapsed into silence as they walked down the hall, out into the delightful fall day. "I can walk you home."

He didn't notice that her body became rigid as she walked. "Sure."

More silence, that was punctuated by Finn clearing his throat a few times, made the minutes pass by in a more than awkward manner. But the quiet gave Finn more time to examine his feelings for the girl beside him, as if he needed it.

When he had first joined Glee, she had been the one in pursuit of him and, to be completely honest, he had rather enjoyed it. When it had vanished, after that one afternoon, he had begun to miss the way she had looked at him. Not even Quinn had looked at him with such simple admiration, with shining eyes that proved that she believed in him.

But Rachel had.

Sometimes, in rare moments, he believed he could still see that look in her dark brown eyes. He desperately wanted her to always look at him like that but found himself afraid that she would reject him. And if that happened, the balance of Glee might become off kilter. It was a risk Finn wasn't sure he was willing to take.

Besides, he didn't mind being friends with her either. Though their conversations were often times lacking in…conversation.

Spotting a pile of leaves in someone's yard, Finn pointed out the pile of brown, red and yellow. "When I was little, I used to rake up leaves and then jump into the piles."

A bright smile lit up Rachel's face. "Oh, me too. It was always an enjoyable experience."

A devious idea sprang into Finn's mind and, without thinking it through, he jumped in the pile.

Aghast, Rachel turned her head side to side. "Finn! Someone took the time to rake those and you just…ruined the pile!"

"So I'll offer to rake them up again." Standing, he set his sights on her, then charged. Letting out a squeal, she started to run but he was too quick. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he carried her to the pile, which was still mostly intact, threw her book bag to one side, then dropped her in the pile. Before she could roll away, he leaped beside her, his body pressed up against hers.

Giggling, she turned towards him, saying, "I think whoever took the time to rake up these leaves is going to kill us."

Noting that they were only separated by a few leaves, he grew serious, which, in turn, caused her to cease her giggling. "Rachel," he said, his voice hoarse, one finger stretching out to push a stray hair to the side of her face. The look in her eyes revealed how terrified she was but that she was staying in place gave him courage. Was he really going to take the risk?

A flash of them being together, happy, smiling, each other's prom dates, graduating, walking across a college campus… And then a flash of him loving her, loving her with his whole heart, losing his breath at her slightest touch, faintest smile… Watching her leave him and his heart break into a thousand pieces which could never be glued together once more…

Was that a risk he was going to take?

Time stopped as one of her fingers grazed his lower lip and Finn decided that it totally_ was_ worth it.

Just as their lips were about to make contact, a loud voice cried out, "Hey you kids! What do you think you're doing?"

Shooting apart, the two teens stood up, brushing leaves out of their hair and off their clothes.

An old man was standing on the porch of the house, waving a hand at them in anger. Beside him, a woman wearing a pink floral print dress, touched his arm and said, softly, "Let them be Hank."

"We'll rake them back up," said Finn, feeling slightly stupid about the prank once the moment was past.

"No, no," replied the woman, waving them to leave. "You run along. We'll take care of it."

Watching the two teens leave in disgust, Hank said to his wife, "Marge, you're too soft."

"Ah, I just can't help but have a heart for young love." Placing a hand on his shoulder, she crooned, "Do you remember the first time we jumped in a pile of leaves together?"

Grinning, Hank responded, "You bet I do. You bet I do…"

- - - - - - - -

Later, as Rachel sat in her room, she reflected on the afternoon, wondering what on earth she had been thinking, almost letting Finn kiss her while they remained nestled in those leaves.

At the beginning of the semester, she had been ready and willing to give her heart to Finn but now she didn't think it was worth the risk.

It wasn't worth risking the future of Glee or her heart.

Next time, she would be stronger to resist his charms, not letting them sway her to change her mind, no matter what her heart might try to persuade her to do.


	13. Trust

_So, I debated about incorporating my created characters (Cindy, Jane, Ryan, Thomas) into bigger storylines and thought I probably wouldn't. But then I wrote this chapter and thought that giving one of my created characters a slightly bigger storyline would help with the Kurt/Merceds storyline._

_Also, I included Britney Spear's perfume in this chapter, and just for the record, I'm not sure if she even has a perfume and, if she does, what it smells like. _

**_Trust_**

Lunch time had just reached it's peak noise level when Cindy Graham flounced over to the table where the Glee kids usually sat. "Hey guys," she said cheerfully. "Can I sit here?"

Kurt immediately tensed and gave an almost imperceptible shake of the head. Mercedes' eyes narrowed into the thinnest slits, and she was about to give an emphatic no, when Artie spoke up. "Sure."

Ryan and Thomas elbowed each other, then grinned at the more popular girl, who sent them an unsure smile in return. Rachel's mouth dropped open and, after a moment of disbelief, she leaned over to whisper something into Artie's ear. The look on his face showed that her words were probably not the kindest. Tina glanced from face to face, obviously taking stock of the situation in that quiet way of hers.

Breaking the silence that had settled among the friends, Cindy took a huge bite of the apple on her tray, crunching it with her teeth. "So," she said, mouth not quite empty. "Are you guys excited for Christmas break?"

No one spoke for several minutes until Kurt, with a glint in his eyes, replied, "Yeah, sure. I'm going to visit Los Angeles with my family. My grandma lives there and we rarely get to see her."

"Oh." Cindy's eyes lit up. "That sounds fun! What about everyone else?"

As Thomas began outlining the Christmas he would spend mostly at home, detailing each and every video game, Mercedes, who hadn't missed the look in Kurt's eye, hissed at Kurt, making sure Cindy couldn't hear, "What are you doing?"

"Gauging the enemy," he responded, as if it should be obvious.

Clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, she signified that she understood. "Hey, I'm staying home for the holidays too," Mercedes said, just as Thomas finished recreating a particular battle he had fought in Halo against the Flood. "Every Christmas, my family sings carols at the old folks homes around town. It's fun and the old people seem to really like it."

A bright smile on her face, which Kurt was positive was a fake, Cindy said, "That's really nice of your family. I like to volunteer at different places around Christmas too." She didn't hear when both Kurt and Mercedes snorted doubtfully at Cindy's words. "There's so much sadness around the holidays, especially for those without loved ones. It's nice to spread holiday cheer."

When no one seemed inclined to talk anymore, Cindy shifted uncomfortably on the bench, while poking at the giant mass of macaroni and cheese on her plate. Finally, she forked some and prepared to place it in her mouth.

"Wait!" cried Rachel, unable to allow the consumption of such an unhealthy food. "Don't eat that! You're a performer. You should know better."

Her fork paused in the air, grease dripping down to her plate, Cindy eyed Rachel. "Well, I don't usually eat the school food but I didn't have time to make a lunch this morning."

"Well, in that case," exclaimed Rachel, standing, half of her sandwich in her hand. "Eat half of mine. I just can't bear to see anyone eat that…stuff."

Confused, Kurt and Artie, the only two eating the cafeteria food, looked down at their plates. "We're eating this stuff," Artie commented.

"Yeah, yeah." Rachel waved a hand at Artie, dismissing him. Clearly, Cindy's diet was more important than either Kurt or Artie's.

Rolling his eyes at Rachel, Kurt dug into his macaroni and cheese, not minding the grease. In fact, he thought it added a little flavor. Mercedes caught his eye and jerked her head in Cindy's direction. Understanding, he made sure that Cindy was always in his line of vision. As he watched her throughout lunch, he couldn't help notice her cheerful demeanor and the friendly way in which she interacted with everyone at the table.

Later in the day, after the last bell had rung, Kurt met Mercedes at her locker to discuss some plan of action concerning Cindy and the other popular kids.

Mercedes lounged against her locker, her head lolling in Kurt's direction as he stood very erect next to her. "So, Cindy caught up with me as I was leaving the cafeteria and invited me to go Christmas shopping with her today after school."

Elated, Kurt stood up even straighter. "That's perfect Mercedes! This is a great way to start our investigation!"

Scowling, she crossed her arms over her chest. "You won't be the one hanging out with her."

"True," said Kurt. "But I think you can do it. Just find out if we can trust her, okay? Call me later with the details." He turned to leave but her hand shot out and grabbed his upper arm, preventing him from a hasty retreat.

"I don't think so. You're coming with us."

Sputtering to come up with an excuse was useless and Kurt found himself, not long later, trailing along behind Mercedes and Cindy, who were trading ideas on presents for their moms.

"I'm getting my mom that Britney Spears perfume. Despite Britney's…overall tackiness, my mom seems to like it," Kurt said, interjecting into the girls conversation.

"Really?" questioned Cindy, stopping to stare at some dresses in a window front. "My mom likes perfume you can barely smell. Last year, I put some water in a perfume bottle and gave it to my mom as a joke. She didn't even notice until I told her about it!"

Grudgingly, Mercedes muttered, "That's a pretty good prank."

"My mom and I are constantly pulling jokes like that on each other." Eyes still on the store front, Cindy started to head inside. "I think my mom might like that pink dress."

"No way!" Placing a restraining hand on her arm, he pointed to another shop further down. "You can get better quality, more fashionable, and cheaper dresses at the boutique down there."

"That's great," sang Cindy, heading in that direction. "I'm really glad you guys decided to come." Mercedes and Kurt caught up with her, both still waiting for the proof that she wasn't trustworthy. "And not just because you know so much about where to get the right clothes Kurt. I think you guys are really cool."

At the genuine tone of her voice, the other two teens exchanged a glance. Despite their mistrust of her, they couldn't help but, almost, kind of, in a way, like her.

The rest of the afternoon went by rather quickly and by the time evening rolled around, they were ready to head home, shopping bags in hand.

"Wow," said a surprised Mercedes. "I think I got most of my shopping done early this year. That never happens!"

Before they could leave the mall, they had to pass by an ice cream shoppe. Spotting it, Cindy tilted her head in it's directions. "Want some? I'll buy."

Eagerly agreeing, they followed her, allowing her to get a bit ahead before Kurt whispered to Mercedes, "I think we can trust her."

"Yeah, not the others, but most definitely her."

Then, at a smile from Cindy, who was waiting for them in the shoppe, they raced ahead.

- - - - - - -

The four teens sat in Coach Sylvester's office, none speaking to one another. Finally, the Coach herself entered and narrowed her eyes at them. "Do they trust you yet?" she asked without any preamble.

Tucking a hair behind her ear, Cindy spoke quietly. "I went shopping with Mercedes and Kurt today and if they don't trust me now, then they're well on their way."

"Good," cooed the older lady. "Everyone else?"

"Working on it," murmured Quinn, thinking of Artie.

"Harder than I thought," said Puck, his eyes on the sky outside of the window, mind fixated on Tina.

"They're so lame," complained Jane. "But, like, I think it won't be that hard."

On their way out of the office, Cindy placed a hand over her stomach, the feeling of nausea that had begun while sitting with the Glee kids at lunch intensifying. Mercedes and Kurt probably did trust her, they probably even liked her, and, the worst thing of all, was that she liked them too.


	14. Wish

**_Wish_**

It was less of a party and more of a small gathering but most of the Glee kids didn't mind since they were not usually invited to even small gatherings.

Taking in the sight of all his friends, new and old, mingling, Finn couldn't help but smile. When he had first asked his mom about the New Year's Eve "gathering," she had flatly refused.

"Don't you remember what happened last time you're friends came over? I had to replace a wall!"

After reassuring her a thousand times that most of kids he was inviting didn't pull stunts like that, she had reluctantly agreed.

Now they were all together, talking, playing games, watching movies and, sometimes, even laughing. He couldn't help but notice how close Puck was to Tina, as the boy watched Tina engaged in a game of poker with Thomas and Ryan. Mercedes, Kurt and Cindy were all watching "The Breakfast Club," often commenting on some aspect or another. Quinn and Jane were sitting in the corner, not looking like they were enjoying themselves, while Rachel and Artie talked quietly over their drinks. His eyes focusing on Rachel, he pondered what might happen at midnight. She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying whatever she was discussing with Artie and, for an instant, jealousy overcame him as pictured Artie giving Rachel a kiss at the end of the countdown to the new year. Then she furtively glanced at him, something he couldn't miss, and all those feelings dissolved. Heading in their direction, he joined in their conversation, relieved when neither seemed to mind.

- - - - - -

Not sure why she had come, Quinn sat with Jane, feeling very bored. However, her attention was drawn to the side of the room where Rachel seemed to have captivated both Artie and Finn with wit and charm. Snorting, Quinn chastised herself for thinking that Rachel could possess such qualities, then stiffened when Rachel's fingers grazed Artie's arm.

But why she should care if Rachel chose to touch her math tutor? Artie meant nothing to her. To her he was only the chance at a good grade.

Leaning back, she rested her head against the wall, closing her eyes and trying to pretend she had gone to a different party that night. It was to no avail, however, as Jane scooted over and whispered, "Shouldn't we be trying to get them trust us? Cindy seems to be doing a good job."

"Yes," said Quinn, cracking one eye open. "Too good possibly."

Watching the only other cheerleader in the room distracted Quinn so that she didn't notice Artie until he was right before them. "What do you want?" snapped Jane, forgetting from one moment to the next that they were supposed to be gaining the trust of the Glee members.

"Uh, well, you were just sitting here and I thought….thought you might want a soda or something."

Holding back laughter, Jane asked, "And you would you bring them to us?"

Glancing at his wheels, then back at the sodas, he said, softly, "I didn't, uh, think of that."

Sending a cool glare at her friend, Quinn stood up. "I would like a soda, actually. Would you care to accompany me Artie?"

Already half standing, Jane halted in her movement, hurt eyes on her best friend.

"Well, I, uh…yes!"

- - - - - - -

Once again, Tina won the poker game, collecting the gum with which they had been gambling. Feeling Puck's breath against her neck, she shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"You're pretty good at this," he said into her ear, making her hair stand on end.

"Th-thanks?"

"Want something to drink?"

Spotting Artie with Quinn by the soda and snack table that Finn had set up, Tina rose, muttering, "No th-thanks. I'll g-get it on m-my own."

Leaving the boys, including Puck, who thankfully didn't follow her, she took a place next to Artie. Neither Quinn nor Artie noticed her as she opened a soda bottle. Artie was telling a story that involved his older sister Amanda, while Quinn giggled a bit. Seeing Quinn look so…so, well, happy, gave Tina quite the shock. She had been thinking that Artie probably liked Quinn but in that moment she questioned Quinn's feelings for Artie. Could it be possible that the Ice Queen herself was starting to thaw due to Artie's warmth?

Strange things were happening all around, Tina thought as her eyes roved around the room, aware of the new directions that everyone seemed to be taking. The popular kids and the dorks, all together and getting along? It was beyond bizarre.

- - - - - -

Rachel's world had been turned upside down since Glee had taken the name New Directions.

Swallowing at the thought, she lifted her eyes to Finn, flustered at being so close to him for hours on end. There seemed to be no end to the topics on which they could dwell, which made her feel comfortable, somehow, despite the butterflies fluttering crazily inside of her stomach.

At the Ryan's call, she swiveled to see that midnight was only a few short minutes away. The time had gone by so quickly, as she had been completely engaged by her very own tall, dark and handsome. Grimacing, she reminded herself that he wasn't hers and couldn't be. With midnight fast approaching, she knew she must do something to keep Finn from kissing her because she was sure that a kiss would cause nothing but trouble.

Stepping forward, she called for attention from the small crowd. "I know that it's almost midnight and I know what you are all thinking. We're all friends here, so how does the one kiss at midnight rule apply to us? Well, I have a solution. Instead of finding a partner to swap spit with when the clock strikes twelve, we should all make a wish about the new year. Not a resolution but an actual wish, something we want to happen." Pleased with herself for such a wonderful solution to her own problem, she failed to take into account the disappointed look on Artie's face, who couldn't bring himself to look at Quinn, or Puck's, who was grinding his teeth in frustration, or even Finn's, who appeared to be more than just a bit crestfallen.

Suddenly it was the countdown and everyone prepared to…wish.

"Five…four…three…two….one."

Eyes all around the room closed and the wishing began.

If they could all see into each other's minds, they would've been shocked that most of the wishes revolved around one thing: regional's.

"I wish that we would be spectacular at regional's, that we would impress the judges and garner plenty of fame. Oh, and I also wish that Finn Hudson would stop looking at me like he wants to kiss me because that would surely mess everything up."

"I wish that regional's would be a success because it means so much to us but it especially means a lot to Rachel…"

"I wish that Puck would just leave me alone so that I could focus more energy in preparing for regional's."

"I wish that Tina would see that I'm not just interested in making out with her and that I would have the courage to stand up to Coach Sylvester about regional's 'cause I just don't think I want to do this anymore…"

"I wish that this stupid party would just be over so I could get far away from Artie, who I know I don't have feelings for. I wish I could concentrate solely on how I might destroy Glee for regional's, thus truly winning my daddy's love."

"I wish that my disability doesn't hinder our chances at winning regional's. Oh, and I wish that Quinn would allow me to see her heart…"

"I wish that I would be the best dressed guy at regional's."

"I wish that none of the popular kids mess up our chance to win at regional's. And I wish, hope, that Cindy really is our friend...that Kurt is right…"

_I think it's fairly obvious which wish belongs to which person but I did write it so of course it's obvious to me. If there's any confusion, let me know and I'll let you know. ;-)_


	15. Crumble

_I have been waiting to write this chapter pretty much since I started this story but needed it to occur later...I was actually going to wait longer but I just couldn't do it. It didn't end the way I expected it to but the story must have it's way and I was happy to oblige. _

**_Crumble_**

Quinn could feel heart crumbling and she mostly blamed Artie, though there were other factors, other people, that contributed to the chinks in the armor she had so carefully placed around her heart.

Such as Mr. Schuester, who constantly gave his all to every kid in Glee, who remained optimistic despite the fact that the whole school seemed bent on dashing the club that he treated like his child. He even took time out of his busy schedule, despite the demands of his wife, who seemed not to care one iota about the club, to help Quinn and the others achieve greater perfection in their singing.

Such as Rachel, who Quinn still didn't like, but who sang with a passion and a talent that even Quinn couldn't deny. Sure, Quinn had mercilessly teased Rachel for posting videos of herself singing on myspace, but that had just been weird. It didn't change the truth - that Rachel was good and would one day have a starring role in a Broadway production.

Such as Finn, who had abandoned the status quo to embrace a dream he had admitted to having for years. Even though they had broken up, and Quinn had since decided that trying to win back his heart wasn't worth the effort (though she wasn't sure she had ever had it), she couldn't help but admire the courage he had, and still did, in joining Glee in the first place.

Such as Mercedes, Kurt, Tina, who ranked among the least popular students in the school yet still managed to smile at rehearsals, all the while brushing spit balls off their clothes and combing jello out of their hair.

Such as Artie and especially Artie, who terrified her. Sometimes she feared he could look straight into her soul with those intense eyes of his. Sometimes she felt that just by being around him the walls of stone that kept her emotions from ever truly showing were…crumbling. Part of her warned her the rest of her that if she didn't quit those tutoring sessions, which she was sure she didn't really need anymore anyway, it would be too hard to quit _him_.

As the thoughts piled on her one late afternoon, after Glee's midweek Wednesday meeting, she attempted to rebuild the walls. But when Artie rolled her way, she knew it was useless.

"Hey Quinn," he said cheerfully, causing her to wonder when he had thought he could be so casual around her outside of their tutoring.

"Hi…Artie," she replied, trying to hide the intense emotions raging inside of her.

"We're all going to Roy's. Want to come?"

There was the invitation, the same one that he had given her the previous Wednesday, in the first week after they had come back from Winter Break. It would be so easy to say yes, to become friends with the people she had sworn that she would always despise. But she said no, because it's what Coach would want her to say, what her dad would want her to say.

"Oh, are you, uh, busy?"

He appeared so helpless before her and she knew it was will within her power crush him, hurt him. Maybe that's what she should do, since he had so callously mounted a defense against the walls around her heart. "Yeah, I have a lot of homework." Yet she couldn't do it, didn't want to do it. He didn't deserve it.

"I'd…like it if you could come. Sometime."

And with that short phrase, more of her walls crumbled and it was all she could do to keep from crying out as he wheeled himself away, telling him she'd love to go, as long as he would sit by her. Flirting with him in public, as she sometimes did in that classroom away from any other eyes, was not an option. So, hanging her head, she disappeared behind the curtain, taking herself and her crumbling walls out another exit.

- - - - - -

Puck could feel himself crumbling and he mostly blamed Tina but he couldn't lay that blame solely at her feet.

It also belonged to the unfailing optimism of Mr. Schuester, who remained dedicated to the kids of Glee even when outside forces threatened to overwhelm and trample all his hopes and dreams. Even his wife, who Puck had only seen from a distance, didn't seem to understand Mr. S's love of Glee. Yet the teacher remained loyal to his wife, which earned no small amount of respect from Puck, whose own father had left his mother at least three times in the last seven years, always returning but never really changing.

It also belonged to Finn, his best friend since grade school, who had started to make Puck believe there are more to life than football and hazy weekends with the guys. Sometimes Puck watched Finn singing, seeing the determination to be better, and Puck felt spurred on himself to also be better.

It also belonged to Rachel, the girl who ignored every single insult thrown her way, keeping her eyes fixed on her ultimate goal of earning a Tony award one day. Puck was sure that her goal wasn't unattainable and that she would blaze on ahead, leaving them all in her wake.

It also belonged to Mercedes, Kurt, Artie, the three losers who gave their all to every performance, always trying to hit the right notes and step in time to the music. Even Artie attempted to join in the musical performances, despite his inability to dance.

But, mostly, it belonged to Tina, the quiet, stuttering girl who had, inadvertently, won his heart. The two hadn't shared many conversations but there was something about her that drew him to her, that had drawn him toward ever since kindergarten. She aroused within him a curiosity that couldn't be quenched until her got to know her and, possibly, let her get to know him. Sharing anything about his personal life chilled him to the bone but couldn't stop thinking about what might be.

Glancing at her as rehearsal came to a close, he was pleased to see that Tina had been glancing at him. Grinning, he started to head her way when Doofus One and Doofus Two, otherwise known as Thomas and Ryan, intercepted her, ushering her into a circle of all the Glee kids, minus Quinn, Jane, and himself. He watched as Artie rolled, looking rather sad, away from Quinn, who ran backstage, to the group. Then as one, they all traveled away, only Tina looking over her shoulder one last time.

Turning, he rushed off the stage, out the other exit, and found Quinn standing outside. In mere seconds, Cindy was there too, obviously having separated herself from the others for a moment.

"I'm crumbling," he admitted. "And I don't think I can do this anymore."

"I've already crumbled," said Cindy. "I'm not doing this anymore."

Not answering, Quinn kept her gaze locked on the moon.

Shaking his head, Puck left with Cindy, asking, "Hey, can I come with you guys to Roy's?"

- - - - - -

Quinn didn't hear Cindy's answer but she was sure the answer was yes. She was just as sure that the others would accept Puck as easily as they had accepted Cindy.

_They would accept you too,_ her heart whispered to her.

Blinking several times, she allowed her mind to yell at her heart for a minute before heading to the coach's office, where she would have the regretful news of Puck and Cindy's failure to follow through.


	16. Reluctant

**_Reluctant_**

Taking a deep breath, Finn steeled himself for an encounter with Rachel. As he approached her, he couldn't help but slow down and catalog away every one of her movements. Smiling, he watched as she flicked her hair over her shoulder with a snap of her wrist, as she stuffed her books in a bag that appeared much to small, all the while pursing her lips. Stepping back, she closed the locker, spinning on one foot to face away from him as she headed out of school for the day. Swallowing, he willed himself to move, jogging to catch up with her.

"Hey Rachel," he called out, coming in to step with her.

At once pleased and worried by his presence, she wrinkled her brow. "H-hey Finn."

Gathering all of his courage, he grabbed her elbow, bringing her to a stop. "Rachel…you're a…a force of nature, you know?"

Not sure exactly where he was going with whatever he needed to say, she squinted at him. "I guess-"

"That's not a bad thing," he said, quickly, interrupting her. "It's a good thing. You're this…fascinating…I don't know…girl." Feeling shy, which was out of character for him, he nervously rubbed his hands together. "And I want to get to know you better. Outside of school, outside of Glee. I guess what I'm trying to do here is…ask you on a date. Will you go out with me Rachel?"

Her bottom lip dropped a little at the question and her heart beat quickened. A little sick, she gave him her answer.

- - - - - - -

"You said what?" screeched Mercedes dropping Cindy's hand, on which only half of the fingernails had been painted a dusky shade of pink.

Sitting up straighter, Rachel gazed at herself in the mirror of her vanity, running a brush through her hair. "I said no Mercedes and…" Her voice wavered before she went on. "…and I don't regret it."

Arching two skeptical eyebrows, Kurt glanced up for the magazine he was leafing through while stretched out on Rachel's bed. "You sound like you regret it."

Blinking several times, Rachel shook her head. "I don't."

Troubled, Cindy turned to face the girl she was fast becoming friends with. "Why did you say no?"

Continuing to almost absent mindedly brush her hair, Rachel met Cindy's eyes in the mirror. "Because I liked Finn, back while he was still dating Quinn. I liked him a lot. And…then I got hurt. Plus, those feelings distracted me from what's truly important."

Knowing exactly what Rachel was going to state as being "truly important," Kurt rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. You can date someone and still make time for your budding Broadway career."

Pouting, Rachel appeared poised to answer when Cindy spoke up. "If you're afraid of getting hurt, then why bother even living?"

Twisting her body, Rachel scrunched her nose. "What do you mean?"

Snorting, Mercedes up a hand to keep Cindy from answering. "I got this white girl." Fixing her intimidating stare on Rachel, Mercedes explained. "What Cindy means is that you're bound to get hurt in life, no matter what you do. Unless maybe you stay holed up in some cave or something. Otherwise, life will let you down. I mean, before you and Finn started this crazy dance, weren't you heartbroken about other things?"

Thinking of all the things the popular kids had done to make her miserable, she nodded her head.

"And you can't blame your reluctance on Glee either. I'm sure you could make time for both Finn and Glee. And I'm sure that Finn would understand how important Glee and performing are to you," Cindy added, smiling encouragingly at Rachel.

Taking stock of her friend's advice, Rachel sat in silence. The others stared at her, waiting for her to come to some sort of conclusion. At last, her mouth opened a bit. "I…guess all of that makes sense. But it's just so…scary."

"But is it worth it?"

Contemplating Cindy's question, Rachel didn't answer right away. She had thought about it before and she had decided it wasn't worth it. Perhaps she had been wrong? "I have to go…" Standing, she blindly walked out her room, leaving her friends behind. As she walked down the stairs, she thought she heard them joyfully laughing but she couldn't be sure.

- - - - - - -

The brisk walk to Finn's house took under ten minutes. Standing outside Finn's front door, Rachel found she didn't remember how to knock. "Okay," she muttered to herself. "Lift your hand and just bang it several times…"

"Are you talking to yourself freak?" came the voice that Rachel most despised in the world.

Glancing to her right, she saw Quinn standing there, one hand on hip and a mocking smile on her face. "What are you doing here?"

Tilting her head to one side, Quinn addressed her as if she was a child. "Finn invited me over."

Inside her heart was already breaking. She had been right to be so reluctant. Just as she was about to bolt, Finn opened the door, his eyes widening as he stared at the two girls on the stoop. "Uh, Quinn, hey. Rachel…what are you doing here?"

"Nothing, apparently," she told him bitterly, starting to leave.

"Um, Quinn, can you wait inside?"

Appalled that he would invite _her_ inside, Rachel pounded her feet against the concrete, not caring that Finn had started walking beside her.

"Rachel, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine," she said, her tone indicating otherwise.

When his hand touched hers, his fingers grazing her palm then sliding down to intertwine with her fingers, she paused, her body completely frozen, except for her heart which was thudding so loudly inside of her she was sure he could hear it. "You're not fine," he murmured, yanking her arm gently so that she was facing him.

Staring up into his brown eyes, she forgot how to breathe, to think, to function like a normal human being. She mustn't be normal, anyway, for she couldn't have resisted him for so long without super powers. "I..I.." Gulping down her fears, she plowed straight ahead, choosing to finally be honest. "I hate that Quinn's at your house," she said, her mouth spitting our words in rapid fire mode. "And I know I said I wouldn't go out with you so I shouldn't have any say about who you invite over but that doesn't mean that I like it. Because I like you. I do, Finn, I like you. But I've been reluctant for us to be more than friends. I've never had a boyfriend you know-"

Putting a finger to her lips, he stopped her tirade. "You like me?"

It was as if that was all he had heard. "Yes," she whispered, her palms growing slick, which worried her since he was still holding one hand. He would feel her sweat, know her nervousness.

Grinning, he leaned down, ready to kiss her, ready for the two stars to finally collide.

"Wait!" she almost shouted.

Jerking back, he almost shouted back, "What is it?"

Biting one side of her bottom lip, an action that she didn't know made him want to kiss her all the more, she shrugged. "I want you to kiss me Finn. But not right now. Maybe…after we go on that date?"

Nodding, he agreed immediately then began pulling her back to his house. "So, Quinn's over but I only invited her over to talk about you. I know it was probably stupid but I wanted to talk to someone about you and we were close for awhile…"

Happy about the whole situation, Rachel said, "That's okay. But maybe she can go home?"

Looking down at her, he replied, "Oh, she can definitely go home."

_Author's Note: This wasn't exactly how I thought this would turn out but, as I've stated before, the story has an idea and I just have to go along with it. I wanted to put it off and I almost had Rachel get mad about Quinn being there, storming off and refusing to speak to Finn for awhile but I hate too much angst so I didn't. But they still haven't kissed and I don't want them to yet! But how, oh how, can I keep that from happening now? *sigh* The story will tell me, I suppose._


	17. Impossible

_Author's Note: Thank you SO much for all the lovely reviews! It really thrills my heart to see such feedback. *tears* Here's another chapter, this time focusing on what should become a canon couple, :-P_

**_Impossible_**

Clearly, Rachel and Finn were happy about what had transpired between them over the weekend but their obvious glee did not rub off on all of their fellow New Direction members (though it did on some, to an extent).

One such not so overjoyed peer who sat slumped in the theater seats of the auditorium, observing Rachel and Finn through narrowed eyes and uttering curses against them and all young couples falling in love, was Quinn.

"Yeah, they make me sick too," said a voice beside her.

Slightly startled, she turned her head to see Artie, his mouth in a not quite smile while he watched Finn tickling Rachel. "I…don't care. Finn can do whatever he wants. We're not dating anymore."

Rubbing his lips together, Artie cocked his head at angle, appearing to be contemplating her words. "So…you don't like him anymore?"

Growing rigid, Quinn quickly averted her eyes away from him. "Uh, no. I…don't think so."

A slight smile touched Artie's lips for a moment then was just as quickly gone. "About tomorrow," he said, lowering his voice. "I can't make it."

"What?" she cried a little too loudly, drawing the stares of some of those in the theater (except for Finn and Rachel, who were much too absorbed in each other). Hushing herself, she leaned toward him. "Why not?"

Gripping the arms rests of his wheelchair, he replied, "I have to go to math club tomorrow. I've been missing so many meetings they're threatening to overthrow me."

Blinking rapidly, Quinn process the information. "Wait… This whole time you've been tutoring me instead of attending the meetings of the club of which you're president?"

A sheepish shrug was his only response.

Reclining back into the seat, Quinn struggled to maintain the emotions that suddenly began rushing around inside of her. It meant something to her, that he would abandon something important to him just to help her. No one in her life had ever put her before…well, anything. Not even her parents. Swallowing the giant lump that had formed in her throat, she heard herself say, "You shouldn't have done that Artie. You could've tutored me only one day a week."

Waving a hand, he told her, "It was for the good of math and I'm the math club president. But they've already begun the impeachment process so I thought it might be a good idea to show up tomorrow. We'll still meet Thursday, right?"

Holding back the tears that had made their way to her eyes, she nodded, then watched as he rolled away. Grinding her teeth together, she tried to lie to herself once more about what she felt toward Artie but found it was becoming almost impossible.

- - - - - -

Tuesday night Quinn studied math long into the night, numbers and equations haunting her dreams once she finally lay herself down to sleep. She had been disappointed at Artie not being able to tutor her that afternoon for several reasons but one, not so insignificant, had been that she had a mid term the next day. However, he had been an excellent tutor and she hoped that she had been an excellent sponge.

The morning came too quickly and soon Quinn found herself sitting in third period, Mr. Peters' ominous gray eyes fixed on her, waiting for her to fail, she was sure. Grabbing the heavy packet of a test, she took a seat, took a breath, then took out a pencil and began.

After she had gone through the first page, she smiled, for the equations weren't all that impossible. Thanks to Artie, she might just pass.

Thinking of Artie, she found herself momentarily distracted. A flash of his eyes, hidden behind his glasses, made her want to giggle like a schoolgirl with a crush (which maybe she was). They were blue sometimes but other times, in the right light, they were green. And on rare occasions they were a vibrant mix of the two, in ocean of sorts in which she could get lost, if she would let herself.

When Mr. Peters cleared his throat, she abruptly pulled herself out of her daydream and placed pencil to the paper again.

Engrossed in the problems, she let Artie slip away, ignoring the scolding voice, that sounded an awful lot like her father's, that said entangling herself with Artie beyond a tutoring relationship was impossible.

- - - - - -

When classes were over, there was Glee, and after Glee was cheerleading practice, and after that… Well, after that, Quinn thought she might celebrate the completion of her mid terms with a nice, relaxing bubble bath and a bowl of chocolate ice cream smothered in cherry topping and whip cream. On her way out of school, those very things on her mind, she heard someone calling her name. Spinning on one foot, she saw Mr. Peters headed in her direction, a stern expression on his face. He must've been just coming from his classroom, Quinn thought, her stomach dropping as she noted the white papers in his hand. He had probably just finished grading some of the tests. Maybe…her test?

"Miss Fabray," said the stocky teacher. "I graded your test first and I have to say, you surprised me."

Trembling hands took the test out of his, while wide eyes gazed at the red mark at the top.

Impossible. It was just impossible.

- - - - - - -

"Oooh, can I have one?" asked Jane, reaching for the plate of cookies Quinn was carrying.

"No," cried Quinn, slapping her friends hand away.

Snorting in disappointment, Jane continued to eye the homemade chocolate chip cookies, mouth salivating. "You ditched your last three classes to bake those?"

"Um hm."

Suddenly, Jane stopped walking in the middle of the school hall. "Wait! You baked these for a guy, didn't you?"

Freezing, Quinn didn't say anything, not sure if she trusted her mouth to speak.

"I remember last year, when you first liked Finn, you baked him cookies. Remember?" Eyes glowing with the thrill of discovering something, Jane clapped her hands. "You like someone new! Who is it? Tell me!"

Mouth dry and heart pounding, Quinn started walking again, albeit a little stiffly. "It's…no one. I made these for Mr. Peters. I told you he's been helping me with math and I did well on the mid term, so I baked him cookies."

"You like Mr. Peters?" Jane gave Quinn a quizzical look. "I can see liking Mr. Shue or one of the other younger teachers but-"

"I don't like Mr. Peters," Quinn said, incredulity in her voice. "These are just to say thank you. I'm going to give them to him now, so I'll see you later."

"Okay, bye!"

Shaking her head at her sometimes clueless friend, Quinn made the last of her trek alone. At the door to the room where she had grown to know Artie, she paused. She felt a little light headed, a little dizzy. But it was just Artie and he was nothing special.

_No_, her heart reprimanded her. _He _is_ special. He makes you feel special. Stop pretending. And remember, nothing is impossible. _

She had never listened to her heart before (because, as her dad always told her, doing made her weak) yet this one time, she thought she wanted to even though she knew she wouldn't.

Opening the door, she saw Artie reading a book but when she entered, he closed it, a megawatt smile on his face, for her. Finding it difficult to walk, she set one foot in front of the other, somehow traveling the short distance to where he sat. Shoving the plate of cookies toward him, she said, "I made these for you. To say thanks." Under the plate was the test. Making sure he noticed it, she handed the items off to him.

Setting the plate down, he examined the papers she had given him. "This…this is your midterm. And you got a B!"

Thrilled to have finally gotten to share it with him (she had been busting with excitement ever since Mr. Peters had approached her in the parking lot the night before), she found herself leaning down to wrap her arms around him in a hug. At first, he didn't react and she was afraid that he might not, but then his hands reached for her waist, resting there for a moment before sliding up and clasping together against her back. A minute passed though Quinn was not aware of time as she and Artie held each other. It seemed a shame to end the hug but end it did, Quinn moving her head back to look into his eyes.

They were blue green and Quinn was soon lost in them. Abandoning all thought processes, she touched her lips to his, in a sweet, chaste kiss that lasted for only a short time.

Jerking back, Quinn staggered on her heels away from him. Two of his fingers grazed his lips, as he stared at her in shock. Not believing she had actually given in to her heart, Quinn turned, fleeing.

She didn't stop running until she was in the closest girl's bathroom. Closing herself in one of the stalls, she sat, unflinching, replaying what had just happened in her mind over and over again. Slowly, one single tear made it down her cheek. It dropped to hit her jeans, leaving a wet mark. Staring at it, she felt even more depressed.

Depressed because nothing could ever happen between her and Artie.

It was impossible. Simply impossible.


	18. Waiting

_I'm updating again! All the reviews I receive motivate me to write more chapters... So here's another one! _

**_Waiting_**

Rachel and Finn's first kiss didn't take place after their first date, as Rachel believed it properly should. Walking home with her friends, she analyzed and analyzed until Mercedes shouted, "Enough!"

Stopping in her tracks, Rachel pouted, while everyone else turned to stare at her. "Don't you care? Finn may not like me anymore!"

"That's ridiculous," spoke up Kurt, curling his upper lip. "He chased after for you months. You think after one date he's through with you?"

Tugging on the strap of her back pack, Rachel sniffed. "Maybe."

"You know," said Artie, hands folded in his lap while Tina pushed him. "I've noticed that Finn has been kind of…distracted, in general, over the past several days. Maybe something's wrong. Maybe you should talk to him."

She opened her mouth to respond, when Cindy placed a hand over it. "No more analyzing! And you're not waiting this time. Go talk to him. Now!"

Tina giggled at Cindy's domineering attitude, while Mercedes said, "You go girl!" to her friend.

Slightly offended, but knowing how sound Cindy's advice could be, Rachel pivoted on one foot and head toward Finn's house.

- - - - - -

With the most perfect posture, Rachel stood outside of Finn's door, checking her watch for the third time. Though she had knocked several minutes ago, Finn had yet to come to the door. Tired of waiting, she prepared herself, sadly, to leave, when Finn threw open the door, wearing a blue shirt that looked nothing like his usual attire.

"Rachel, hey," he said, opening the door wider to let her in. "What are you doing here?"

Stepping inside, she found that had grown quite jittery. What if all her friends were wrong and Finn _had_ lost interest in her after that first date? What if that was the reason he hadn't stooped down to press his lips to hers in what she was sure would've been a mind-blowing, heart-stopping, breath-stealing kiss was because he thought her annoying, boring, disgusting? "Oh," she replied, attempting to sound casual. "I just thought I'd stop by…"

Straightening the collar on his shirt, he barely acknowledged what she said. "Uh huh. Would you excuse me a minute?"

Frowning, she watched as he exited, leaving her alone in the living room. Plopping down on the couch, she decided that waiting a bit wouldn't be all that bad. After minutes of solitude, Finn reemerged, still wearing that blue shirt, that looked awfully stiff, and a pair of khaki pants.

"Rachel, I hate to-"

Standing up, she aimed a palm at him. "No, let me say something first." Filling her lungs with air, she began her spiel. "I really like you Finn and I thought that you felt the same." He tried to interrupt her there but she spoke fast, not allowing him to do so. "But it has become quite apparent that you don't. Unless I'm wrong and there's something else going on. Is there? Something else? Or someone else, Finn? Please don't tell me there's someone else because I'm not sure my heart can take it. Oh, I knew this would happen! This is what I was afraid of! I-"

Placing one hand on either side of her face silenced her and, for just a moment, she believed he was going to kiss her then. But when his mom came rushing into the living room, he dropped his hands to his sides.

"Finn!" his mom called, racing out the door. "We're going to be late."

"Look, Rachel, I have to go," he said, ushering her out the door. "But I promise we'll talk later." Then, abruptly turning around, he whispered in her ear. "And you're crazy to think I don't like you Rachel." Flirty grin in place on his handsome face, he walked backwards. "How could I stop liking someone as cute as you?"

Touched by his words, but none the more comforted, she watched as Finn and his mom pulled out of the driveway and drove away, leaving Rachel still waiting for an explanation.

- - - - - -

Three days later, it was Friday and Finn still hadn't taken the time to talk to her. She wasn't sure if he was avoiding her but it seemed like he was. It was disappointing that the first relationship (by relationship, she meant more than mere friendship) she had ever had with a boy was ending after only one date. Growing more despondent by the minute, she determined to try to talk to Finn at least once more.

After school, she found herself standing again on Finn's front step, this time pounding on the door.

It was immediately opened by Finn, who looked surprised to see her, then guilty.

Narrowing her eyes, Rachel strode in. "You forgot about the conversation we were supposed to have, didn't you?" Whirling around on one foot, she placed her hands on her hips as she put him on trial. "Well?"

Slumping his shoulders, he nodded. "Yeah, I did. I'm sorry Rachel. I've been super busy. That's why I missed Glee rehearsal Wednesday."

"Is it…another girl?" The question came out sounding less confident than she would've liked.

"No!" he cried, taking a few steps toward her. "No," he repeated more gently, coming to a stop an arm's length in front of her. "My mom…she lost her job. We were worried about finances, you know? And so I got this job at the market." Pinching the blue shirt that he was wearing, which Rachel now understood was part of his work uniform, he shrugged sheepishly. "My mom works there too. Still, together, even working as often as we do, we don't make as much as we did when my mom was a nurse at the hospital."

Feeling more than a little foolish, Rachel threw herself into Finn's arms. "I'm so stupid Finn! Can you ever forgive me?"

Tilting her head upward, he gazed down into her eyes, his thumb running over her bottom lip. "I guess I can," he said softly, his eyes fixed on her mouth.

"Finn!" came his mom's voice from somewhere else in the house. "Are you ready?"

"Yes Mom!"

The moment completely ruined, the two teens separated, looking awkwardly at the floor.

"I…I think I'm going to have put dating off for awhile Rachel." At the hurt look on her face, he quickly went on. "With this job, I won't have time anyway. I'm really sorry."

She could tell he genuinely was but that didn't make her feel like crying any less.

"I don't expect you to wait for me or anything. I'm sure there are a lot of guys who would love to date you."

Smiling at his misconception, Rachel said, "I wouldn't want any of them. I just want you."

Charging into the living room, his mom glanced at Rachel. "Oh, Rachel, hi. How are you doing?"

"Good. Thanks Mrs. Hudson. I heard you were on your way to work."

Eyes turned to the clock, Mrs. Hudson's mouth dropped open. "Yes we are, and late again. I'm sorry we can't visit with you Rachel…" Trailing off, the woman grabbed her purse and dashed out to the car, Finn and Rachel on her heels.

At the passenger car door, Finn looked sorrowfully at Rachel one last time before entering, his mom driving off as soon as the door slammed shut.

Staring after them, Rachel felt her heart break a bit but at least she knew Finn still cared about her. One day, they would be together and life wouldn't be able to keep them apart but, until that day came, Rachel would be waiting.

- - - - - -

"Daddy, you're the best," cooed Jane Cranst, giving her dad an appreciative smile. "I can't believe you did that for me."

Looking guilty, Mr. Cranst pushed his peas around on his plate. "Anything for you baby girl."

Jumping up from the table, Jane left the room, calling out behind her, "I'm going out. Be back later."

As soon as she was gone, Mrs. Cranst sent her husband a withering look. "We let her get away with too much Sam."

Frowning at his food, and glancing over to his daughter's uneaten helping, he grimaced. "She should've eaten what you made instead of complaining about it."

"That's not what I'm not talking about, dear, and you know it."

At his wife's reprimanding look, Sam Cranst turned red. "It's the only way to gain her affection."

"But that poor woman… She lost her job because of the lie you told."

Feeling ill, the man stood. "I…I know Dorothy. And I have to live with what happened to Nancy Hudson, not you."

"What type of values does that teach our daughter? That she can lie and cheat to get through life?" Frustrated, Dorothy also stood. "I'm not just mad at you Sam. I'm mad at me too. We've been waiting to discipline her for too long. We've been catering to her every desire without thinking of the consequences. It's time we change! Before out daughter gets worse than she already is."

Knowing his wife was right, Sam let out a defeated sigh. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, first of all, you can try to get that woman her job back. Then…we'll have a talk with Jane about rules and consequences."

Watching his wife began to clear the plates away, Sam's heart sank. His wife had the right attitude and a good plan but he couldn't help but think that it was too late. They had waited too long and that waiting had effected the whole family, and especially Jane, in a most negative manner.

_I wanted to keep Rachel and Finn separate awhile longer but didn't want to created any triangles so I thought why not go with an issue that's effecting all of America right now? Then I decided to make it even worse by painting Jane as the one responsible - but don't hate her too much! She's just a high school kid whose parents were too lenient with her. Anyway, don't hate me too much for prolonging the Rachel/Finn kiss. Just wait! It...might happen. ;-)_


	19. Date

_Sorry I haven't updated in so long! I had this chapter sort of set up in my head but the words just weren't coming out right. I think they finally did - I hope so at least. Let me know what you think! :-D _

**_Date_**

With Valentine's only two days away, the kids at McKinley High, at least those without a date for the most infamous of days, were feeling slightly stressed.

Puck, in particular, was anxious for he had decided that it was finally time to reveal to Tina how he felt and to ask her on a real date. On Wednesday, during Glee rehearsals, he kept an eye on her, waiting for the right moment to pounce. So absorbed was he in his own perusal that he failed to notice the hurt look on Artie's face as Quinn told Jane about her Valentine's date with Chuck or the guilty expression that arrested Quinn's face shortly after relaying the information, glancing over her shoulder as if to make sure Artie was within earshot. Nor did he notice Finn apologizing to Rachel for having to work on Valentine's Day while she assured him she was okay with it, though the sorrow in her eyes seemed to show that she actually wasn't. What Puck did notice was how, during their fifteen minute break, Tina took a seat by Thomas, one of the dorky guys that followed her around like a love sick puppy. The other love sick puppy, Ryan, had apparently moved on and was trying to flirt with Jane, without much success.

When Tina's hand touched Thomas', Puck willed himself to march over and interrupt but found his feet wouldn't respond to the orders of his brain. At the smile the two shared, Puck wondered if he was already too late…

- - - - - -

Both Thomas and Ryan had declared their undying love for Tina on Monday, brought her flowers on Tuesday, and had each sang a song to her Wednesday at lunch. Though she had often tried, in the past, to make them understand that she wasn't interested and neither had seemed to comprehend her words, she attempted the feat once more after Thomas finished singing his selection.

"L-look boys," she started. "I kn-know that you l-like me and I'm fl-fl-flatterd b-but I'm j-just not inter-interested in either one of you, o-okay?"

"What if we battle to the death?" Ryan suggested, clapping Thomas, his supposed best friend, on the back.

Tina exchanged a horrified look with Thomas before stating, quickly, "N-no. My m-mind is made up. N-no amount of blood-bloodshed will ch-change it."

Sighing in defeat (finally), Ryan bowed to Tina. "I understand, m'lady. Consider this conquest ended. Thomas, let's go find other girls to woo."

For a moment, Thomas hadn't followed Ryan but had simply stared at Tina. "I don't want another girl to woo," he told her before, with slumped shoulders, he had left her.

His admission had taken her by surprise. She hadn't really considered that either boy had actually liked her. She had believed that both considered it to be just a game. Gauging Thomas' reaction, she might've been wrong about at least one of them.

That afternoon, after classes were over, she entered the auditorium. Her eyes met Thomas' for a brief second before his darted away. Perplexed, she had walked to the stage, climbing the steps slowly. Once there, she noticed Puck, a fire burning in his pupils that frightened her, so she hurried to Artie's side, observing that his eyes were fixed on Miss Popularity herself, who was boasting about her date with some meathead jock (not that all jocks were meatheads, especially one Finn Hudson). Wishing that things could be different for her best friend and the girl he was falling for, Tina gave Artie's shoulder a squeeze. From not far away, she heard Rachel say to Finn, "No, no, I understand completely Finn. Your job is important. I'm not mad at all." Curious as to what Rachel wasn't mad about, Tina twisted her head in the direction of where Finn and Rachel were standing, just as Mr. Schuester announced that it was time to begin.

The dancing that afternoon was exhausting and Tina almost envied Artie for not having to twirl about with the others. One look at him changed her mind, however, because she knew he would've given almost anything to perform the moves with the others. She pushed herself even harder after that and, when the fifteen minute break came, she was ready to collapse. Seeing Thomas sitting dejectedly on the edge of the stage caused a stab of pain in Tina's heart. Swallowing, she headed over to him, taking a spot next to him.

"Th-that was a tough num-number," she commented.

"Yeah," he grunted, kicking his shoes against the stage. "You did pretty good though. You looked…breathtakingly beautiful-" Stopping in the middle of his sentence, he winced. "I'm not supposed to say those things anymore, am I?"

Biting her bottom lip, Tina debated about the best way to answer him and finally decided to ask a question of her own. "Th-Thomas? Do you l-like m-me?"

He angled his head toward her, incredulity shining in his eyes. "Why else would I have been acting the way I have around you for the last several months?"

Shrugging, she replied, "I don't kn-know. You and Ry-Ryan didn't always s-seem so sin-sincere."

Looking at Ryan, who was shamelessly attempting to gain positive attention from Jane, Thomas shook his head. "Maybe Ryan wasn't but I was Tina. But I understand that you want me to leave you alone."

At the genuineness of his words, Tina laid a hand over his, surprising him. "It's n-not that I w-want you to lea-leave me al-alone. I w-want you to st-stop treating me l-like I'm ho-holy. I'm j-just a per-person."

Eyes glued to her hand, he smiled. "I know that. I guess I…I just didn't always act like it. Ryan said the only way you get a girl to notice you is by treating the ground they walk on as sacred. And making sure the girl thinks you're cool."

Recalling all the debates between Thomas and Ryan over who was the coolest, Tina chuckled. "I th-think you're c-cool Thomas. And…m-maybe on Fri-Friday we could do some-something so you c-can get to know m-me as a per-person."

Hesitating, Thomas glanced at her. "But…but Friday's Valentine's Day."

"Uh huh."

Gulping, he grinned. "Sure, yeah, we can do that."

"G-good," said Tina, rising. Laughing internally at the goofy expression on his face, she walked away, just as the break was over, hoping Artie wouldn't be too upset that they wouldn't spend Friday evening wallowing in their singleness together.

- - - - - -

Bounding down the front steps that led to the school, Puck chased Tina. It didn't take him long to catch up with her but, unfortunately, she was accompanied not only by Artie but Cindy as well, who was pushing Artie's chair. Catching the girl he wanted to be his by the arm, Puck stopped their procession. "I need to talk to you alone."

Nodding at the others that it was okay, Tina let Puck drag her some distance away. "Wh-what?" she asked suspiciously.

Taking the deepest breath possible, he launched into what he hoped was a coherent account of how he felt. "You're…strange. I mean, not strange. Well, yeah, strange. But in a good way. I…think you're… Well, I don't know. You're pretty cool Tina. I'm not doing anything for Valentine's and I thought… I thought we could on a real…a real date." His ramblings fell away when he noticed the way she was looking at him. Her eyes said no before her mouth could.

"A r-real date?" That he actually proposed such a thing caught her off guard. "So-sorry Puck. I c-can't. I already have a d-date."

Without any more of an explanation, she was gone, leaving Puck to experience the rejection he hadn't expected. It hurt. A lot. He wasn't sure how long he had been standing there when Cindy came up to stand beside him, resting a cool hand on his bicep.

"You like her, don't you?"

"She said no," was his only response.

Understanding what he meant, Cindy hugged him and was shocked when he clung to her. "It's okay Puck," she soothed.

"How is it okay?" He pulled back, anger all over his face. "She said didn't want to go out with me on Valentine's Day! I never…I never ask girls out on real dates."

Puck asking a girl to do something else beyond parking overlooking the not so scenic town in which they lived was an anomaly. "No, you don't. But Puck, Tina made plans with Thomas already. She couldn't just drop them like that."

"Why not?"

Not wanting to state exactly what she thought but not wanting to hide the truth either, Cindy replied, "Because I think Tina might like Thomas a little." Before Puck could head off to pound the other boy, Cindy went on. "Yet there was a certain look in her eye after you two talked. There's a chance that she's confused about her feelings. If you really like her Puck, then you shouldn't give up. Don't be too pushy but do be honest about how you feel."

Eyes on the ground, Puck nodded. "I won't. She'll agree to a date with me eventually. She…she has to."

Slipping her arm through Puck's, Cindy led him away from the school grounds. "Come on, let's get out of here."

And, leaving the school behind, the two left, one thinking about Puck's heart, which apparently wasn't as fictional as she once believed it to be, and the other dwelling on the dark haired girl that had, somehow, captured his affections.

- - - - - -

_I have a question for my readers: who do you think Tina should end up with? Puck, Thomas, or neither. I'm as of yet undecided on this front and a littl input would be fantastic. Thank you! _


	20. Mission

_This was supposed to be a little longer, focus solely on Mercedes and Kurt, and contain much more humor. Yet, this is what happened. I realized that although I like writing about friendship, I do prefer romance, especially the love story of the two at the end of this chapter. And thanks for all your opinions on the Tina situation. That will be addressed in the next chapter, probably._

**_Mission_**

Under the dark cover of night, two stealthy figures crept on tiptoe by the side of a building. Their mission was going rather successfully, as no one had noticed them thus far, but when one tripped and sprawled onto his face, agitating the other as she grasped him by the collar and pulled him to his feet, it seemed all could go terribly wrong. Luckily, no one on the almost empty school lot had spotted them so they turned their attention back to the task at hand.

"This is a really bad idea," hissed one of the figures.

"Yeah, well, it was your idea Kurt," spat back the girl.

"Maybe I'm rethinking that one Mercedes…" Trailing off, the boy became as rigid as a stick when footsteps were heard. Sidling up beside him, Mercedes glanced past him to see two teachers exiting the school building and heading home. "That was close."

"Too close," muttered Mercedes, traveling around him to lead. She liked it better that way. "This mission better not end in failure."

"It won't," Kurt replied, fast on her heels, though still as sneaky as any ninja. "I mean, it might. I just can't help but believe that Quinn has ulterior motives for joining Glee."

A frown passed over Mercedes face as the two entered the now dimly let school hallway, their black clothes making them not as visible as they might have been had they chosen to wear different colors. "Yeah, I guess so. But we don't know her all that well and if we get to know her, like we got to know Cindy, maybe we'll discover-"

"No!" Kurt said, a little too loud. "Sorry but c'mon," he quickly went on, whispering. "How can you imply that Quinn could be like Cindy? Cindy's one of our best friends. Quinn is evil."

Arching an eyebrow, Mercedes rounded a corner. "Don't you think that's a little extreme?"

"It's not!" the boy insisted. "One time, she took my favorite pair of shoes, after Puck had confiscated them, and threw them in the school pool. They were made of leather…and they were never the same."

Rolling her eyes, Mercedes tried to remember a reason, any reason, why she was friends with Kurt. The truth was, of course, because, in the beginning, Tina and Artie had had each other and Rachel…well, she was Rachel. Though they had all formed into a group quite nicely, one that included Cindy and often Finn, that hadn't always been the case, allowing Mercedes and Kurt to develop a bond separate from everyone else. If Mercedes was honest with herself, she would admit that Kurt was more than just a friend. He was her best friend. "Sounds pure evil to me."

Sniffing, Kurt held his head high. "You just don't understand the importance of designer footwear."

The response on her tongue died away as she signaled him to stop. "There's Coach Sylvester's office. It looks like there are two people inside!"

Peeking over her shoulder, Kurt spied the two silhouettes behind the door. "Mercedes, I have a great idea!"

"Last time you said that," Mercedes groaned. "We ended up sporting these depressing outfits and sneaking around the school grounds."

Confused, the corners of Kurt's mouth tipped down. "But that's what we're…oh. Mercedes, don't mock me! We have a mission we must complete. Now follow me!"

After hesitating for a moment, Mercedes did follow him, not sure if she felt comfortable with allowing him to take control.

- - - - - - -

And that's how Mercedes found herself stationed next to Kurt in the school's ventilation system, afraid the ducting would not hold her weight.

Seeming content, Kurt crawled in front of her, his butt wagging in her face. "I think we're here," he said, very quietly, over his shoulder.

It seemed he was correct because, floating up from below them, came Coach Sylvester's voice. Placing a finger to her lips, Mercedes lowered her ear and listened.

"Girls, girls, girls," came the Coach's voice. "Regional's are fast approaching and it seems you have no strategy for taking the club down!"

Gasping at the same time, both teens immediately pulled out their phones and used their video features to record the conversation going on beneath them.

"We're trying," said Jane, her voice causing another gasp from the two above. "At least I am."

After a moment of brief silence, Kurt was rewarded with the sound of Quinn's voice. "I'm trying."

"Are you?"

At the Coach's question, both Kurt and Mercedes tensed, waiting for the reply. "Y-yes. Glee is…it's stupid. I would do anything to…hurt…those people's chances of…of winning."

As they headed out of the ventilation system, both teens felt rather disappointed, even Kurt who had partially been hoping to find Quinn guilty. Deep down, they wanted to believe that there was good in everyone but it seemed some people made it their mission in life to make everyone around them miserable.

- - - - - -

Quinn felt sick as she left the Coach's office that night, especially once she spied the smirk on Jane's face. What they were doing had seemed fine before… Before she had started to like Glee, before she had started to like… Artie. Placing a hand over her mouth, she ran to the bathroom and emptied what little contents were in her stomach into the toilet. Resting her head on the seat, she considered the statement she had just made to the Coach. It had been a lie. Why couldn't she just tell the truth? Admit how she really felt.

Cindy and Puck were braver than her but they probably didn't have a father like hers, who would probably disown her if her mission in life didn't align with his.

He wanted her to succeed, by being the best, by being popular.

After everything he had taught her, forced onto her, all she really wanted was to be loved, to be accepted.

Her father had never been very good at either and her mother had always followed her father's lead. Thinking of how Finn's mom had lost her job because of a complaint that Jane's father had lodged (although the hospital had intended on letting someone go anyway…but it may not have been Mrs. Hudson), she believed that, perhaps, Jane would've made a much better daughter for Daniel Fabray.

Lifting her head, her mind wandered to Artie again, as if often did.

He would accept her no matter what. Although, if he knew the truth...maybe he wouldn't.

Settling in her mind what she must do, she stood up and left the school, determined to follow through before she changed her mind.

Several later she was standing on Artie's front porch in the freezing cold weather staring into his all seeing eyes.

Clearing his throat, he awkwardly pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Uh, you wanted to tell me something?"

And, steeling herself, she told him everything.

- - - - - - -

Feeling like crying at the betrayed look in Artie's eyes, she whispered, "And that was our mission."

For a moment, he didn't speak and when he did, at last, he sounded angry. "Why are you telling me all this Quinn?"

Clasping her hands together, she held back the tears. "Because I want out. I want to tell everyone the truth. But I had to tell you first. What you think about me matters."

Conflicted, he looked away, his nostrils flaring. "Why does it matter?"

It was such a simple question and, yet, it was so complex. To explain in words might have taken all night, for there was so much she felt for him. Instead, though, she removed a glove and reached out, placing her bare hand over his. Hers was warmer than his, the fingers that hers intertwined with ice cold. "Because it's you."

She could only hope that was enough of an answer. She could only hope that he would have it in his heart to accept her anyway_._

To maybe even...love her.


	21. Grin

_This chapter was so hard to write... Most of the chapters have come out so easily but this one felt like I was laboring just to write it. I hope it's okay though. Please let me know by giving me a review. Thanks. :-)_

**_Grin_**

All the teens were poised on stage as Will entered the auditorium, ready to rehearse the song they had selected to perform at regional's, which was less than one month away (two and half weeks to be precise). He stopped short when he realized they hadn't formed with their usual posses. Though Cindy had been gravitating more toward Kurt and Mercedes, Puck, Jane and Quinn had continued to cling to each other. But that day, Puck was near Cindy, eyes on Tina and Thomas, and Quinn was gripping the handles of Artie's wheelchair, as if it was her only support. Frowning, Will's eyes swept the stage as he noticed something else.

"Where are Mercedes and Kurt?" At a lack of response, Will sighed, then said, "I suppose we could start without them."

Stepping forward, removing her hand from the handles, Quinn spoke up. "Wait…wait, Mr. Schuester. There's something I need to…tell you. Tell everyone." She glanced over her shoulder at Artie, who sent her a faint smile. Facing Mr. Schuester, she took a deep breath. "I have to tell you the reason that I-"

Whatever she was about to say was cut off when Mercedes and Kurt came barging down the aisle. In their hands was a contraption which Will couldn't identify at first. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a phone hooked up to a speaker. Mounting the steps, the two teens stood breathless before their peers. "There's something you all need to hear," declared Mercedes, finger levitating over a button.

"It's the proof," Kurt went on, nodding at Rachel, who seemed to understand what no one else yet had.

And then Mercedes finger jabbed down and Coach Sylvester's voice was exiting the speakers, followed shortly by Jane's, then Quinn's.

Horrified, Quinn took a step back, covering her mouth with her hand.

Will's heart sank as he realized what 'proof' Kurt had been referring to. Sadly, he locked eyes first with Quinn, whose mouth was agape, and Jane, who appeared impassive. "So, Rachel was alright all along," he muttered.

"This-this!" Rachel shouted stepping forward. "This is exactly what I believed would happen Mr. Schuester. You can't allow them to stay in Glee." Tossing her head, she glared at both girls, but only one bowed a head in shame.

Frowning, Will deliberated on the best course of action, while the Glee kids struggled with the emotions rising in their chests. Before his mind had been set, Cindy grabbed Puck's hand and the two walked to center stage.

"There's something you all need to know," the girl said, her voice sad.

"We, uh," Puck nervously stammered, looking up and down but never at Will's eyes. "We were in on it too but we couldn't go through with it."

Seeming to draw courage from Cindy and Puck's declaration, Quinn said, loudly for all to hear, "After that night, that that was recorded, I decided I couldn't go through with it either. I don't want to bring Glee down because…because…because I like Glee!" The last part came out as a yell, echoing in the auditorium for several seconds.

Mercedes shook her head, planting her hands on her hips. "We recorded this _last night_. You expect us to believe that you changed your mind over night?"

Appearing more vulnerable by the second, a thing which Will would never have dreamed of seeing, Quinn whispered, "Artie?"

At her plea, the boy rolled forward, hesitated, then said, "She came over last night and told me everything. I think…I think we can trust her Mr. Schue."

"I don't think we can," said Kurt, bitterly, his eyes locked on Cindy. "Not one of them."

Head spinning, Will didn't know what to believe himself. "Okay guys, let's put this to a vote." Eight heads nodded, while the accused took positions on one side of the stage. "All those in favor of letting them stay, raise your hands." First, Artie raised his hand, then Tina. Thomas and Ryan quickly followed suit. For a moment, Will thought he would have to be the tie breaker but then, slowly, Finn raised a hand. Turning her head, Rachel regarded Finn with wet eyes.

"How could you?" she hissed, before dashing from the stage.

"Um, I'm going to…follow her," Finn explained as he stepped down the stairs, chasing after the girl.

"So, that's it I guess. You're staying," Will said, no emotion in his voice.

Rolling her eyes, Jane began moving off the stage. "Not me. I hate Glee. Have fun finding a twelfth member before regional's."

Deflated, Will couldn't even watch her go, as all his dreams for Glee seemed to have disappeared. He tried to grin, in order to offer some sort of hope to those left on stage, but found that he couldn't.

On stage, Artie rolled to where Quinn stood. "I'm glad you're not leaving Glee."

Smiling down at him, she said, "Me too. And…thank you." Then, without any hesitation, she brushed a kiss against his cheek before leaving him alone, on his face a giant grin.

Nearby, Puck tried to exit, stage right, but Tina caught his arm before he could. "You could-could've just let the oth-others take the f-fall."

"Nah, wouldn't have been right," he told her, deflecting her could-be compliment. "When we heard that recording, Cindy and I knew we couldn't just stand there and say nothing."

"I th-think that's v-very brave of you…N-Noah."

At the sound of his real name, which only his mother called him, and rarely at that, he straightened. He liked the way she said it.

"And about that r-real d-date you asked m-me about b-before. It is t-too l-late to say y-yes now?"

Words rattled against his brain and he tried to make them sound calm but instead he squeaked, "No! Not too- I mean, I think- You're…pretty."

Giggling at his nonsensical attempt to tell her he still wanted that real date, she pressed her lips to his in a quick peck, then darted away.

Watching her go, all he could do was grin.

- - - - -

Standing by her locker, staring at a picture of Finn, Rachel was boiling with anger. How could _Finn_ stand up for those that dreamed of destroying her dreams? Just when she thought steam might actually come out of ears, Finn was there, hand on her arm.

"Rachel, you can't actually be mad at me."

Jerking her arm away, she said, "Yes, yes I am Finn. Those horrible, horrible people wanted to ruin us and you voted to let them stay!"

Frowning, he placed his hands in his pockets. "Is that what you thought of me? That I was a horrible, horrible person?"

Head tilted, Rachel swallowed as his implication was made clear. "No…but that was different. You were… You never… But I liked you!"

"They're no different than me Rachel. Just took them a little longer than me, I guess, to realize how great Glee is. So please, try to be nice to them, accept them."

Sifting his comments in her mind, Rachel sighed as she chose to do the right thing. "I'll do it Finn. For you and for Glee."

Taking his arm in hers, she shut her locker as they started to walk down the hall. Resting her head on his shoulder, she couldn't help but grin.


	22. Attempt

_Author's Note: I apologize for my lack of updating on this story. I've been inspired of late by Harper's Island, which was simply amazing from beginning to end. PLUS, I could not seem to write what I wanted to happen next. I would start, then think that what I was writing was way too forced. This flowed out much better...I really hope you, my readers, enjoy it. Please review and let me know what you think! Your reviews encourage me to continue. And, on a side note, I've never received so many reviews for a story - so thank you! _

**_Attempt_**

In an attempt to become Quinn's friend (maybe, sort of) Rachel invited the girl to get a cheeseburger with her one Friday afternoon. For Rachel, it was quite the sacrifice, since cheeseburgers were not the most healthy of foods. In all honesty, she would've much rather headed to the global fusion café, Omega, where the food selections were much healthier. But for Finn, she asked Quinn to head to Chuckie's Burger Hut.

She was relieved when Quinn asked her if she wouldn't rather go to the Omega Café. "I try to eat healthier food," Quinn had told her.

Enthused, Rachel had readily accepted and the two headed out, in Quinn's car, to Omega.

Once seated across from her one time arch nemesis, Rachel realized that carrying on a conversation might be difficult. "So…I'm ordering the stuffed grape leaves. What about you?"

Leafing through the menu, Quinn didn't even glance at Rachel, which Rachel thought could only foreshadow a not so pleasant afternoon. "I like the sushi here."

The first attempt over, the girls lapsed into silence until the waiter came to take their order. After he left, Rachel cleared her throat and began talking, plunging ahead without quite thinking. "You know, I don't think we're all that different Quinn. We fight for what we want. That's what you were doing, right?" Quinn only stared at her, blankly. "I'm going to tell you a little secret. I…I was the reason Mr. Ryerson got fired. I was so mad…incensed…that Mr. Ryerson gave the part I wanted to someone else."

Sputtering, Quinn seemed not to believe it at first. "You started that rumor?"

"No, of course not," Rachel replied, folding her hands on the table in front of demurely. "I merely mentioned a suspicion to Principal Figgins. I lied about that suspicion but I had to attempt something. It just wasn't fair. I was much more talented than the boy Mr. Ryerson cast as lead."

For a moment, Quinn furrowed her brow but then she burst out laughing. "I can't believe you did that! That's awful. I've done some terrible things but that… I think you win Rachel."

Scrunching her eyes together, Rachel frowned. "It wasn't meant to be part of any competition with you. I just wanted what I wanted. Which is why I understand your plan to sabotage Glee. You wanted Glee to fail because you were afraid that if we were successful some of the Cheerio's limelight would shine on us."

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the food came and Quinn was silenced for a minute. When the waiter left, Quinn popped a sushi roll in her mouth, chewing it thoughtfully. "You're right. That's why I joined Glee. I never expected to actually like it…or to like Ar-any of you."

Using a fork and knife, Rachel cut a piece of her stuffed grape leaf and placed it in her mouth. She waited until she was done chewing to say anything. "We're very likeable people. You just never took the time to get to know us. You were caught up in lipstick and hairspray and short cheerleading skirts."

Apparently, Quinn took offensive to Rachel's comment for her eyes narrowed. "My life is more than just lipstick and hairspray and short cheerleading skirts. Look, I was actually happy that you asked me here today. I thought it was your attempt at friendship with me, something I would've laughed at before. But I want to be friends with you, even though you're with my ex-boyfriend. Obviously, though, that's not possible." She almost stood but decided against it. She had only eaten one sushi roll and she was determined to finish all of them.

Looking at Quinn, Rachel finally saw that there was more to Quinn than she had previously thought. "You wanted to be friends with me? Have we entered a parallel dimension?"

"Clearly, we have," Quinn responded, without skipping a beat.

Feeling bad, Rachel chewed in silence, trying to formulate a proper apology. "I've never considered what your life might be like Quinn. I just assumed…" Chuckling, she placed her fork beside her plate. "And you know what they say about people who assume." Pausing, she lifted her eyes to Quinn's, noting the expression on the other girl's face. It told her that Quinn was skeptical but willing to keep listening. "So I apologize. I'm really glad you want to stay in Glee because you do have a lot of talent."

A sigh exited Quinn's lips. "I'm sorry too. Sorry for being so inhuman for so long. I was always afraid that if I let people see the real me, if I made any type of attempt in that general direction, that I would be ridiculed. Maybe I would have. Maybe I will be. But I'm starting to think it's worth the risk. Artie says-" Stopping short, Quinn placed a hand over her mouth, as if she had let slide a vital piece of information.

Confused, Rachel tilted her head to one side. "Artie… When do you ever talk to Artie?"

Blushing, Quinn poked at her food. "Uh…he was tutoring me in math for awhile and for the past few days we've been talking on the phone. He's been really supportive of me throughout everything. Besides you, Finn and my former partners in crime, Artie's the only member of Glee who has spoken to me. Oh, and Tina, once. Her and Puck are dating or something…"

Not knowing the specifics of Tina and Puck, but knowing that there was something between them, Rachel nodded her head. "Yes, everyone knows about that but what people don't know is that you like Artie." Clapping her hands together, Rachel sang, "You like Artie, you like Artie!"

"Shhh…" urged Quinn, swiveling her head from side to side to make sure no one could over hear their conversation, though no one in the café would probably care about Quinn's high school crush. "I don't like him. He's just…a friend."

Smiling smugly, Rachel said, "Uh huh. Sure you he's just a friend. Just like Finn was only my friend for so long." Leaning forward, Rachel whispered conspiratorially, "Similar to you, I made an attempt to lie to myself about my feelings. It's better to be honest…"

Slumping back, Quinn crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. "Fine. Maybe you're right."

Rachel prepared herself to speak further on the matter when Quinn's cell phone rang.

"Hello? Cindy, hey. Can I call you b- What? You found…what? There's an official Glee Regional's Rules and Regulations Handbook? Really? Uh huh…uh huh… Wait…you found a way that we can compete? I'm with Rachel, I'll tell her! Yeah, we'll meet you at your house in five." Snapping the phone shut, Quinn stood. "Rachel, we have to go. Cindy just discovered something that will allow us to stay in the competition! Come on!"

"Uh," said Rachel, also standing. "Shouldn't we pay first?"

After paying, the two girls exited the restaurant and ran to Quinn's car, both eager to find out what Cindy had stumbled upon in her reading. As Quinn backed the car up, Rachel looked at her companion and grinned. "I'm glad I made an attempt at friendship with you Quinn."

Touched beyond words, Quinn just smiled back, then drove like a madwoman to Cindy's place.


	23. Place

_Author's Note: This story has become almost painfully hard to write. I'm struggling with major writer's block and, with no new episodes to watch, I'm having a lack of inspiration. Somehow, though, I managed to write this chapter. It's kind of all over the place...but hopefully you guys like it! Let me know by submitting a review. Also, the Artie/Puck scene was in part inspired by a review left by vine._

**_Place_**

Flabbergasted, Will Schuester simply stared at the words Cindy kept underlining with her finger. "See, Mr. Schue, you don't have to be student to compete at regional's."

It seemed to good to be true. His eyes darted to the words below her finger. "Wait…Cindy, this says that the participating teacher can't be a club advisor."

"Precisely Mr. Schuester," said Rachel, lighting up. "Which is why we invited Ms. Pillsbury to join Glee!" Gesturing, she indicated that someone was standing behind him.

Turning first his head, then his whole body, Will faced his fellow teacher. She gave him a little wave before walking to stand beside him. "I hope this is okay."

"Are you kidding?" he shouted, grasping her by the upper arms. "This is great! You're our savior Emma!" Clapping his hands, he directed everyone on stage, not noticing the blush that spread across Emma's cheeks. "Everyone, we have to help Emma learn this number and quick. Regional's are in two weeks. And next week we'll see if we even qualify." A cloud of nervous energy hung over him for a minute before he rubbed his hands together and cried "Let's get this started!"

- - - - - -

After rehearsal, a few of the teens lingered on stage, while Will praised Emma in front of the theater seats.

"You were fantastic!" he raved, oblivious to the cause of her very pink hue. "With you on the team, we're sure to perform at regional's. In fact, with you on the team we might actually _place_ at regional's!"

Swallowing back all sorts of emotions at Will's unchecked and raging approval, Emma just smiled. "I'm glad I can help."

Slipping his arm, he directed her down the aisle. "I know that placing doesn't matter Emma. What matters is that the kids are happy." Glancing over his shoulder, he noted Quinn and Artie, in the middle of a discussion, and Puck and Tina, whose lips were glued together in a show to the world that, yes, they were together. "And they are happy. But, still, placing in regional's wouldn't be all that bad either…"

Emma silently agreed, not trusting herself to speak, as the two exited the auditorium.

On stage, Puck pulled away from Tina, resting his forehead against hers. "So…want to go get a burger or something?"

Reveling in the feel of his arms around her, her _boyfriend's_ strong arms, she nodded. Slinging an arm around her, they prepared to leave, as Tina happily reclined against his shoulder, wondering how in the world she had ever ended up being Noah Puckerman's girlfriend. Upon seeing Artie and Quinn talking, Tina stopped, then looked up at Puck.

Sighing, Puck relented easily. "Okay, fine. We can invite them too. But I'd rather if it was just me and you, Babe."

Elated, Tina skipped across the stage, hearing the tail end of what Quinn had been saying. "…he's not interested Artie."

"G-guys," she interrupted. "Puck and I are g-going to R-Roy's. Want to c-come?"

Both appeared rather hesitant but still agreed.

Twenty minutes later, they were all seated at Tina and Artie's usual booth. Quinn, sitting next to Puck, sipped on a diet coke, while looking everywhere but at Artie. Artie, on the other hand, continually gazed at Quinn. Tina read something of concern in his eyes and desperately wanted to ask what was going on but felt it wasn't the best time.

"I th-think it's r-real nice of Ms. P-Pillsbury to h-help us," Tina stuttered, starting a conversation.

"Uh, yeah," responded Quinn absent mindedly. "It's great." Stirring the ice in her drink, Quinn finally lifted her eyes to Artie's. "I'm going to the bathroom," she said, abruptly standing.

Catching Artie's eye, Tina realized he wanted her to follow Quinn. With a sigh, she did, mentally kicking herself as she stood. Talking to Quinn about anything wasn't exactly Tina's favorite thing to do.

"Why do girls always go with each other to the bathroom?" Puck asked, finishing off his cheeseburger.

Swiveling his head to meet Puck's eyes, Artie shrugged. "I don't know. It's a girl thing, I guess."

Stuffing several fries in his mouth, Puck spoke before he was finished chewing, causing Artie to wince. "You excited about regional's?"

Thinking of Quinn and her…predicament, Artie felt his heart sink. He wished he could do something to make her happy. "With Ms. Pillsbury, there's a chance we might place. What's not exciting about that?"

Placing more of the greasy and salty food items into his mouth, Puck nodded. "Yeah, even I'm excited. What about Quinn?"

A glum expression arrested his features before he could stop it. "Sure she's excited."

Actually noticing the look on Artie's face, which was quite a feat for the guy who usually didn't pay attention to such things, Puck said, "Don't worry about it Abrams. Quinn clearly has the hots for you too."

Snapping his neck, Artie met Puck's eyes once more. "What do you mean?"

Rolling his eyes at the other boy's lack of awareness when it came to women, Puck explained, "She likes you Abrams. If she didn't, she wouldn't hang out around you at every rehearsal, as she's been doing for, what? The last few weeks? She's into you. And you're into her. You should just ask her out."

"It's not that simple. I mean…" Artie trailed off as he thought of the numerous reasons Quinn Fabray would probably never date him. "I'm in a wheelchair."

"So?" Puck shook his head in disgust. "If you guys really like each other, then that shouldn't matter."

It was strange. The wisest advice Artie could've asked for came from the boy who used to torment him almost daily. But perhaps that wasn't as strange as the feelings he had developed for a certain blonde cheerleader who had once told him he was the dorkiest boy in school…

- - - - - -

Gripping the sink, Quinn stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, numbering each and every flaw. Artie had told her that they weren't there but her father continually pointed them out, so they must be. The creaking of the bathroom door opening made Quinn jump. Whirling toward the sound, she found Tina standing there, looking awkward.

"I-is everyth-thing okay?" the other girl asked, clasping her hands until her knuckles turned white.

"Everything's fine," Quinn retorted, not willing to share the personal details of her life with anyone but Artie. "I just… I think we have a shot at regional's."

Confused, Tina cocked her head to one side, narrowing her eyes. "And th-that's a b-bad thing? You don't st-still w-want to sabo-sabotage us, d-do you?" Hoping for a negative response, Tina held her breath, wanting for Artie's sake a resounding no.

"Of course not," Quinn responded, shaking her head, her ponytail bobbing with the movement. "It would be…wonderful." Holding back tears, Quinn faced away from Tina.

"I-I don't under-understand…."

Giving in, Quinn felt the words rush out of her mouth, from the very depths of her heart. "I talked to my dad after rehearsal for a second. He called me on my cell. When I told him about Ms. Pillsbury's assistance and how we might have a chance to place, he told me it didn't matter. That Glee doesn't matter." Sniffling, Quinn rubbed her temples with her index fingers. "I want him to understand that Glee matters to me but I don't think he ever will."

Surprised to discover that Quinn had such problems in her life, Tina felt herself moving toward the other girl. Wrapping her arms around Quinn, she gave the girl a slight squeeze. "I'm sorry Quinn."

Telling Tina had made her feel a little better, Quinn had to admit to herself. "Thanks Tina. Want to head back out there?"

"Sure." As she held open the door for Quinn, a thought occurred to her. "And Quinn?"

Pausing just outside the bathroom, Quinn questioned Tina with her eyes.

"Artie r-really likes you. I h-hope you won't h-hurt him."

Glancing over at the boy who had somehow managed to capture her heart, she smiled. "Don't worry Tina, I would never want to do that."

- - - - - -

Across town, Rachel danced in her room. Ms. Pillsbury joining Glee solved all their problems.

They were going to place at regional's, she just knew it.

Hopping onto her bed, Rachel bounced for a few minutes in excitement. They would all be there on stage, with her and Finn leading the others in song and dance.

Thinking of Finn, her exuberance died down. Though they might place at regional's, her relationship with Finn was still not entirely confirmed.

Laying back, she rested her head against her pillow, a sigh on her lips. Eventually, they would have to come together, as two stars crashing brilliantly against the black backdrop of space, right?

Part of her wondered if it every actually would take place.

Or if, instead of crashing, they would just miss each other in the night, never having their special moment.


	24. Perfect

_Author's Note: This story is coming to a close. Next chapter will probably be the last. It's been a long strange trip... I'm only half kidding. This story hasn't always taken the directions that I planned for it to...but I'm okay with that. Here's the second to last chapter...please read and review!_

**_Perfect_**

They were nervous. Every single one of them.

Gathering around Mr. Schuester, the teens and Ms. Pillsbury waited until he opened the letter that would inform them on whether or not they had met the requirements to meet at regional's. Only the week beforehand, they had submitted a tape of the performance they had been practicing that also introduced all New Directions members, plus its wonderful teacher advisor. Now, the letter had arrived that would announce their fate. With shaking hands, Mr. Schuester tore open the top of the envelope and slipped the letter out. For a second, while everyone held their breaths, Mr. Schuester read the contents of the letter. Reaching out, everyone found a hand to hold. As if it was second nature, Quinn's finger intertwined with Artie's, her sweaty palm pressed against his. It felt so right, so natural there. Glancing down at him, she studied his face, from the curve of his chin to the square framed glasses that hid his beautiful eyes. When he looked up at her, she felt embarrassed for a minute but instead of averting her gaze, she smiled. One corner of his mouth lifted in a grin of his own before their attention was turned back to the teacher.

Looking at her teachers face, Rachel almost began to cry. If they made it, he should appear ecstatic but, instead, he was rather stoic. Both of her hands squeezed Finn's bicep, her nails digging into his skin, although she wasn't aware of it. At her touch, he wrapped both of his arms around her shoulders. Thinking that Finn smelled really good, Rachel forgot, for an instant, that her dreams could be shatted by the letter held in Mr. Schuester's hands.

Breathing in deeply, Mr. Schuester said, quietly, "We made it. We're in." The words weren't, at first, absorbed. Everyone stood, not quite sure how to react.

At long last, Puck punched a fist into the air and shouted, "We're going to regional's!"

His words caused the others to come alive. Some jumped, some shouted, some hugged each other. Two, however, cried.

Separating herself from the others, Quinn jogged out of the auditorium, noticed by none but one, who pushed his wheelchair as fast as it could go after her.

There were a few people standing in the hall, for what reason Quinn was not quite sure, as she raced down toward her locker. Opening it, she shoved her head inside and let her tears fall. A tug on her shirt pulled her away from her thoughts, though she didn't need to move to know who was beside her.

"I took your advice Artie." Removing her head, she looked down at him. "I talked to my dad, told him that I just wanted him to be happy for me. I told him I was sick of trying to fit into the mold he's created for me."

Without even pausing to consider his actions, he placed his hand over hers, his fingers stretching over hers. Something had changed between them that night on his porch, when she had told him the truth. She was less reluctant and he was even more willing. Yet, still, she held back enough to make him frustrated at times. Holding her hand in public, as he was dangerously close to doing, was probably against her rules but he didn't care. If she wanted, she could clutch her hand to her chest and look around to make sure no one was paying attention. Instead, she surprised him by turning her hand over and, for the second time that day, intertwining her fingers with his. It felt more than right. It felt perfect. "What did he say?" asked Artie, his voice hushed.

Eyes fixed on their joined hands, she said, "He told me not to expect him to show up at regional's. He said that Glee has nothing to with my future and I'm wasting my time." Tightening her hold on his hand, she sniffed one last time. "But I don't care what he thinks. My mom's proud of me. She told me so. And even if she wasn't,_ I'm_ proud of me. I'm finally doing what I want."

"That's good -" Artie started to say but Quinn cut him off.

"There's just one thing I want to do that I haven't yet." At the question in his eyes, she smiled before bending at the waist to press her lips to his.

Heart pounding in his chest, Artie responded, thoroughly enjoying the contact. He groaned when she ended the kiss. Looking around, he realized they had an audience. "People are watching us Quinn."

Beaming at him, she said, "Let them." And then, joyfully, she leaned down to engage his lips once more.

- - - - - - -

Rushing away from the others, Rachel brushed her tears away. Standing behind the curtains, she stared at the stage, seeing herself performing on it. The light was shining on her and everything was perfect… The illusion was disrupted as Finn walked right through it.

"Hey Rachel," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You okay?"

"Yes," she responded, her voice thick with emotion.

Hearing more than seeing her tears, he moved forward, opening his arms. Though she wasn't upset, she gladly accepted the embrace. "Are you sure you're okay? You're crying."

"These are tears of joy Finn. My dreams are coming true." Rubbing her cheek against his shoulder, Rachel made a wish on herself, since she was a star, or would be one in the very near future, that all her dreams would come to pass, including one that involved the boy holding her.

"I know, it's great, isn't it?"

Pulling back, she inclined her head to meet his eyes. "I've been working toward regional's since I started high school. It's a stepping stone Finn. Just one on my path to victory, to stardom. If we hadn't been able to perform there…" The mere thought of it chilled her to her core. "But we are. My dreams…" Trailing off, she waited for him to complete her happiness.

"Oh, Rachel!" he exclaimed, his lips moving in speech instead of capturing her own, unfortunately. "I forgot to tell you. My mom got a job with hospice so I don't have to work as much. I'm thinking that with regional's coming up, we'll have to practice a lot, but afterwards…I'd like to take you on a date."

Not quite thrilled (a kiss would've done the trick there) she nodded her head. "I think that's the best idea you've ever had."

Smiling, he teetered forward and for a minute, a flash of a minute, she thought he might kiss her. Regaining his balance, he said, "Whoa. Almost flattened you."

Annoyed but not showing it, she replied, "That wouldn't have been good." Sighing, she hung her arms at her sides as he released and rejoined their fellow Glee-mates. Tilting her head to one side, she saw herself dancing and singing, once again, center stage. This time, it was different though. When she was done, the Finn in her daydream scooped her into his arms and planted a big kiss on her lips.

Now _that_ ending would really make everything perfect.


	25. Collide

_Author's Note: This is my final author's note for this story and I'm feeling rather sentimental. I just want to thank EVERYONE who has so faithfully reviewed every chapter. It was your reviews that kept me going when I lost inspiration. I know that a lot of you are Finn/Rachel fans so I hope this ending satisfies you. I have a request - please review this last chapter. I've loved knowing what you think of previous chapters and I would, similarly, love to know what you think of this one._

_I have another request - I'm currently working on another Artie-centric story that I would love feedback on. It's going to be Quinn/Artie (in case you didn't notice, I love them) and Finn/Rachel. It's called _Wheels and the Incredible Brain. _Despite the odd title, please give it a chance._

**_Collide_**

Lights.

Camera.

Action.

Standing on the center of the stage, Rachel Berry found herself, at long last, the focal point of attention. Opening her mouth to sing, she waited until she heard the music start to swell. When it didn't, she looked left and right. Her fellow Glee-mates were all staring at her. Confused, she asked, "What's going on? Where's the music?"

Pointing a finger at her, Finn erupted into laughter.

Pursing her lips, Rachel was about to chastise him, as well as everyone else for their lack of professionalism and for throwing any chance they might have had of coming in first place, when she glanced down at her costume - to find she wasn't wearing one. Letting out a screech, she tried to dash from the stage but tripped over her own feet. Falling to the floor, she rolled for several seconds before her body fell from the stage onto the floor below. It should've hurt but it didn't. Raising her head, she saw Mr. Schuester standing over her.

"You just lost us the competition Rachel!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sitting straight up in bed, sweat trickling down her forehead, Rachel turned her head from side to side. She was in her room, clad in her light blue cotton nightgown. Taking a deep breath, she steadied her nerves before laying back down. Regional's were tomorrow. And she wouldn't be on stage on naked. Everything would be just fine. Everything had to be just fine.

But no matter what the outcome, Rachel and destiny were about to collide.

- - - - - -

Slipping into a pair of jeans and a red top, Quinn studied herself in the mirror. She looked pale. She couldn't possibly be nervous, could she? Gathering her hair into a tight ponytail, she quickly dismissed the idea. Quinn never got nervous. About to head down the stairs, she gathered her things, breathing in and out the way that Mr. Schue had taught them. Upon hearing her father's voice, she stopped, then, with only a quick hesitation, headed into his study. Like a dutiful daughter, she waited for him to finish his phone conversation. When he opened his mouth to speak, she quickly cut him off.

"Daddy, I know that you had plans for me. You wanted me to be popular and a Cheerio. That's what I wanted to Daddy. And, to a certain extent, I still do. But I also like Glee. And Artie. Daddy, you should meet Artie. He's an amazing guy. Anyway, I really just came in here to ask you to come tonight. It would mean so much to me if you would." Feeling tears gather in her eyes, she bolted out the room and down the stairs, heading out into the crisp spring air. She highly doubted he would come but at least she had given it a shot.

- - - - - -

Staring at the sky, Finn watched as the clouds passed by over head. When had it become spring? It felt like only yesterday that football season was starting and Mr. Schuester had blackmailed him into joining Glee. Only yesterday that he had still been dating Quinn and hadn't yet fallen for Rachel. Thinking of Rachel, he smiled. His relationship with her had been unlike any other relationship he'd been in and that was just fine with him. Because Rachel was different, special. That night, after their performance, win or lose, he was going to tell her how he felt. How he really felt.

"Hey," came an obnoxious voice. "Ready to go?"

Turning, he saw Puck sitting in his truck, Tina beside him. "Yeah. Let me just grab my stuff." Grasping his duffel, he raced to the truck, got in and shut the door. "Are you guys…scared?"

"To be honest," Puck replied, pulling out onto the street. "I feel like I might piss my pants. Never felt like this before a game."

Tina patted his arm. "I l-love it when you ad-admit your weak-weaknesses."

Grinning, he removed one hand from the wheel to wrap it around his girlfriend's waist. "Then maybe I'll do it more often."

Sighing, Finn stared out the window, figuring he was in for a long ride.

- - - - - - -

"No, no, no!" cried Kurt, gazing at Mercedes in the mirror. "Wear the purple eye shadow. Not the gold. Purple goes better with the outfits we'll be wearing while performing."

"Fine!" cried Mercedes, exchanging one brush for another. Like a pro, she put the finishing touches on her makeup. "How do I look?"

"Fabulous," Kurt told her, giving his utmost approval.

Glancing up from her magazine, Cindy said, "You look great. Not as good as me, of course."

"Oh no you didn't!"

"Oh, yes I did," teased Cindy.

"Girls," said Kurt bringing the faux argument to a close. "Ms. Pillsbury's here. We have to go. And for the record, I look the best."

As he walked out of the room, a magazine hit him in the back.

- - - - - -

Thomas and Ryan played Magic the Gathering up until the minute Mr. Schuester arrived. Neither one was very concerned about their performances. They were more concerned what Rachel's reaction would be if they didn't give it their all.

"What do you think she'd do?" asked Ryan, placing a card down.

"String us up by our…well, you know," Thomas answered, countering Ryan's move.

"Ugh. You're probably right. She would think of the worst punishment possible and inflict it upon us."

"She scares me."

Nodding his head, Ryan put a card down, the, cheered as he won.

From the other room, Ryan's mom called out, "Ryan, Thomas, your teacher's here!" Quickly restacking the cards, the boys reached for their stuff, then yelled out goodbye, barely hearing Ryan's mom shout, "See you there! Good luck!"

- - - - - - -

Out in the driveway, Artie waited until his mom was ready to go. As usual, she was running around the house, trying to finish up some last minute tasks. But it didn't really matter because Quinn hadn't shown up yet. Part of him wondered if she would but he argued that side down, convinced that she was different than she had been at the beginning of the year. After all, in the beginning of the year, she wouldn't have been caught dead dating him.

They had been together for a couple of weeks now but he could tell it was hard for her. She pretended like she didn't care but she had cared too much in the past for snide comments and whispered gossip not to bother her a little. And on top of the slight worry about his fledgling relationship with Quinn, he also had concerns about that night's performance. He wasn't like the others. He was wheelchair bound, which made everything that much harder for him. Sometimes he wished that he was just like everyone else. Speaking out loud, he said, "Like everyone else…so much simpler."

"But then you wouldn't be you," came Quinn's voice. Glancing up, he smiled at her. "And I like you. A lot." Bending down, she gave him a peck on the lips. "Promise me that you won't make a wish on a shooting star to be different. You're fine the way you are."

Clasping his hands in his lap, he gave a defeated sigh. "Tonight's important. I don't want my disability to screw everything up."

Placing her hands on her hips, Quinn appeared quite formidable. "If you keep talking like that, I'm going to smack your head."

A half grin on his face, he reached out to take her hand. "Thanks for defending me…against me." Perhaps he shouldn't allow himself to become concerned about his relationship with Quinn. If her words at the moment were any indicator, they were going to be just fine.

"Anytime," she replied, squeezing his hand.

"Alright," said his mom breathlessly, as she locked the door to Artie's house. "Oh hi Quinn. Let's go!"

Eyes wide, they faced each other, then headed toward the van.

This was it.

It was time for regional's.

- - - - - - -

The night had finally come. Feeling frantic, Will raced around, feeling as if might explode at any moment. Only minutes before hand, Sue Sylvester had called and told him she hoped all the members of Glee would break a leg. Literally. It could happen, Will thought. All the Glee members could break their legs, except Artie of course. Just when he thought he might lose it, a hand touched his shoulder. Figuring it was probably Emma, there to lend some of her calm to him, he turned, surprised when he found his wife, a smile on her face, before him.

"Good luck Will," she told him, planting a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be out there, watching."

Well, it wasn't the same as Emma's sound advice but at least it was something. And his wife's support, after months of negativity, was somewhat…reassuring. Maybe everything would work out okay...better than okay even.

"Uh, Mr. Schuester," said Kurt, appearing out of nowhere. "What does it feel like when you're having a panic attack? Because I think I'm having a panic attack."

"Mr. Schuester, Mercedes is being ridiculous!" shouted Rachel. "She wants to trade spots with me on stage and that would ruin everything."

"Mr. Schue," muttered Finn, pulling at his shirt. "I think my shirt shrunk."

"And mine got bigger," jumped in Thomas.

Before one more kid could say anything else, Will shouted, "STOP! Okay, listen up. Kurt, you're fine. Just take a few deep breaths. Mercedes, you can't switch places with Rachel. We've got to perform out there just like we practiced. Finn and Thomas, you're shirts got mixed up, obviously. Trade. Everyone else, count to ten and try to relax."

As the teens dispersed, Emma materialized in the middle of them and walked toward him. "I think you need to take your own advice. Relax."

"I know, I know." And then, in a moment of spontaneity, he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "Thanks Emma. For everything. I couldn't have done any of this without you."

Murmuring into his shoulder, she responded, "You can always count on me."

Not far away, Quinn knelt on the ground, head bowed.

"What are you doing?" asked Artie.

"Praying that we win," replied Quinn, rising to her feet.

Grinning widely, he said, "Why don't you just pray that we do our best?"

Her eyes lit up. "Yeah. Do our best and let God do the rest, right?"

Pulling her into his lap, he kissed her lightly on the lips. "I think that sounds perfect."

Wringing her hands, Rachel walked right by the happy couple, completely focused on the upcoming performance. "Then I move forward, and Finn sings his line, then…"

Stopping in her tracks, Finn looked down into her eyes. "Hey Rachel, I think you'll be the best out there."

Too concerned about the performance to consider her budding romance with Finn, she tilted her head to one side. "You think so?"

"I know so." A wave of desire washed over him and he almost kissed her, right then and there, but decided that moment probably wasn't the best. "You're a star and you're going to shine like one."

Her face softened and a response was on the tip of her tongue when she heard, "New Directions is next! New Direction members, take your places!"

Months of preparing had come down to one moment. Well, five to six minutes actually, but it would feel like a moment.

The members of New Directions took their places on stage, held their breaths and listened for the music.

Quinn, in a hope filled moment, lifted her eyes to the sea of faces in the audience. There was no way she'd find her mom and even less of a chance that her dad would be there. Somehow, out of all those people, her eyes _did_ spot her mom…and sitting next to her was Quinn's dad. Tears stung at the corner of her eyes, but they were the good kind.

Head down, Rachel recited Finn's words in her head. She was a star…she would shine. The music began and she started to sing. Started to shine.

- - - - - -

It was all over too soon. The lights faded and New Directions huddled back stage as the top performers were announced. When they were pronounced as one of the top five, it was all they could do to keep from screaming as they rushed onto the stage. Then came the longest wait of all. With bated breaths and closed eyes, they strained their ears, listening to the words that would announce first place.

"And, in second place, our runner up this year is…New Directions from McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio."

Everyone looked first, to Mr. Schuester, then to Rachel, as if their reactions would determine the groups.

"We did it guys," said Mr. Schuester, grinning. "We placed!"

"We placed," whispered Rachel. "WE PLACED!" Hopping and screaming, she led the others to accept the trophy, proudly displaying it for all to see. Taking the microphone, Rachel began, "I'd like to thank my dads who made this all poss-"

The man hosting the event reclaimed the microphone from her, an appalled look on his face. "I'm glad to see you are so exuberant but we really don't do that kind of thing here."

Chuckling, Finn grabbed the upset Rachel and dragged her onto the other side of the stage. "Don't worry, Rachel, that day will come."

Holding her head high, Rachel reminded herself that the day would come. Soon enough, it would come.

- - - - - -

After it was done, Quinn darted off the stage, Artie close behind her, in pursuit of her father. Spying him, she paused, composed herself, then walked gracefully over to greet him. "Mom, Daddy."

Her mom beamed at her but her father appeared uncertain. "Honey," said her mom, taking Quinn's hands. "You were spectacular out there. Wasn't she Richard?"

Swallowing, Quinn's dad hesitated before nodding. "You were. I didn't know you could sing like that."

Forgetting all about the dignity her father approved of, she jumped at him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "I'm so glad that you came Daddy!" An ahem from behind her reminded her that someone had been following her as she waded through the crowd. "Oh, Daddy, Mom, there's someone I want you to meet." Turning, she proudly displayed her boyfriend. "This is Artie."

Her mom immediately shook Artie's hand, while her dad seemed surprised by Artie's…wheelchair bound status. Kicking him with her foot, she nodded her head toward Artie's outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you Artie," her dad said, gravely but respectfully.

Quinn could not remembering ever being quite as happy as she was in that moment.

- - - - - - -

The feelings of success were more overwhelming than Rachel thought they would be. Wandering around outside, a warm jacket wrapped snuggly around her shoulders, Rachel kept her eyes heavenward, hoping to see a shooting star. Not watching where she was going, her shins hit a fountain and she almost fell in the water, but two strong arms circled her waist, keeping her from a watery fate.

"You should watch where you're going," came Finn's voice, the wind caused by his breath tickling her ear.

Turning in his arms, she smiled at him. "Why, when I know that you'll be around to keep me from falling?"

Brushing her hair behind her ear, he lowered his face closer to hers. His cold nose touched her cold nose and they both shivered. "Maybe I won't always be around."

"You won't?"

Gulping down the giant lump in his throat, he shook his head. "I don't know Rachel. I want to be there for you, all the time. But I just…can't tell the future, you know? I feel I've really let you down these past few months and I don't like that I did that."

Touching her fingers to his forehead, she stroked his brow. "You didn't let me down Finn."

Sadness flooded his eyes. "I think I did Rachel. I feel I did. And that really sucked. Because I…I love you."

Mouth gaping, Rachel attempted to process his words. Had he really…? Had those words really…? Yes, he had and yes, they had. He loved her. It was truly the best night in her young life. "I love you too."

"Really? 'Cause for a minute there I panicked and thought you weren't going to say it back."

Running her thumb over his bottom lip, she made a request. "Can we stop talking now so that you can finally kiss me?"

The request was agreeable to him so, without further delay, he closed the distance between them, slanting his mouth over hers. While responding, she linked her hands behind his neck and created a greater height for herself by standing on her tiptoes.

Above their heads, two shooting stars crashed into each other in the night sky and it seemed as if the golden residue from their impact fell on the two earthly stars who had, at long last, collided.

_End_


End file.
